Chemlab #20 - Determining the Melting Point of a Solid
Date of Lab:   Score:
Lab Group Members:
 
Problem Statement:     What is the melting point of acetamide?
Hypothesis:     The published melting point of acetamide is 81 oC
Research References:     Chemlab 19
Experimental Design Data and Results
 
  1. Push the open end of a capillary tube into the powdered acetamide.
     
  2. Move the powder to the closed end of the capillary tube by tapping the bottom of the tube on the table. Repeat until the the powdered acetamide occupies 1-2 mm of the capillary tube end.
     
  3. With rubber bands, attach the capillary tube to a thermometer and align the bulb of the thermometer with the closed end of the capillary tube.
     
  4. Make a water bath by half filling a 100 mL beaker with warm tap water.
     
  5. Place the thermometer/capillary tube assembly in the water bath so that the surface level of the powdered acetamide is beneath the surface level of the water bath.
     
  6. Place the beaker on the burner stand and, stirring frequently to insure even heating, carefully heat the water bath with your heat source.
     
  7. Note the temperature at which the acetamide melts. Remove heat source.
     
  8. Let the acetamide cool and recrystallize. Repeat the procedure two more times and average the results.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Calculate the experimental error.