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Category : Natural Sciences

Determination of Manganese in Steel

By: Juno Kim and Nicole Introduction             The goal of this experiment was to determine the mass percent of manganese in an unknown steel sample using methods of visible spectroscopy and volumetric analysis. The two methods were then analyzed and compared to decide the better method for determining the composition of Mn in the unknown steel. In both methods, the unknown steel was digested in hot concentrated Nitric acid, HNO3, and analyzed for transition metals. An accurate analysis of steel […]

Diffraction Patterns from Polystyrene Beads and from Breath Figures

By: Ludmila Novikova Abstract: Before X-ray diffraction of crystals was applied to determine the arrangement of atoms in 1913, little was known about the geometric and stereochemical shape of molecules and about the science of crystallography in general. In fact, the atomic theory of matter was not completely accepted because there was no theory available to explain the existence of compounds of the same composition (Flack, 372). X-ray crystallography presented us with methods that would allow us to strike a […]

Multi-step Synthesis of Fragrances

Written by Conner Dart Introduction: The purpose of this experiment was to create and purify a product from 2 different reactions. The first reaction was a reduction of an aldehyde and the second was an acid-catalyzed etherification. This type of reaction is important because from it many derivatives (fragrances) are created. This is called organoleptic chemistry. In order to achieve this derivative, separatory funnels were used, reflux was utilized in coordination with TLC analysis in some cases, rotary evaporation was […]

Analysis of Florida Well Water

Analysis of Florida Well-Water By: Timothy Pemberton Introduction: For this project, the purpose was to experimentally determine the qualities of a sample of well water including ‘hardness’, amount of minerals, and they types of minerals present. The results obtained will then be compared to other lab groups who also conducted the same experiments on the same sample of water to reveal more conclusive evidence of the contaminants and quality of the water. Several methods will be used to test the […]

Multistep Reaction Sequence: Benzaldehyde to Benzilic Acid

By: Seth Dingas* and Jakkrit Suriboot ABSTRACT Benzilic acid was synthesized through a multistep reaction from the starting material of benzaldehyde and through the formations of benzoin and benzil.  The first reaction produced benzoin by using the thiamine hydrochloride catalyst, followed by an oxidation reaction to produce benzil, and a rearrangement to synthesize benzilic acid.  By utilizing crystallization, pure solid products of each step were collected and analyzed through IR, NMR spectroscopy, and other physical properties. Introduction Multistep synthesis reactions […]

The Formula, Synthesis, and Analysis of Alum

By: Veronica Smith I. Purpose Formula of a Hydrate: The purpose of this experiment is to determine the formula for the hydrate alum. Synthesis of a Hydrate: The purpose of this experiment is to become familiar with the formation of hydrates and using sequential reactions. Analysis of a Hydrate: The purpose of this experiment is to verify that the compound formed in the previous experiment is alum.   II. Procedure Formula of a Hydrate:       After determining the mass of […]