salt saturation lab report, due Monday, Nov. 23rd.

Salt water saturation. Lab guideline.

Handout 11-12-07. Due Monday, 11-23-07. The lab report is due one week after the lab is finished. We will also spend time in class discussing how to write the lab report and I will be available (on Tuesday, after school, in the library, 3:30-5:00) to tutor anyone needing additional help.
Your lab report should have six sections. Below are the six sections and some of the questions that should be answered in each section. It should be written as a report of what you did, not as a series of questions and answers. You should answer the questions in complete sentences instead of asking the questions again in your report. Your final lab report should be organized into the following six sections and be in the same order. Each section is worth 10 points. You will also recieve 40 paritcipation points for completing the lab but these will only be awarded when you turn in the lab report.
Many students were absent at least one of the two days we worked on the lab. If you were absent on those days or had questions about the lab it was your responsibility to come during advisory or after school to make up the lab or ask questions.

1. Observations
Why were we initially interested in the topic?
We made 3.5% salt water and we tried to make 100% salt water. What happened when we mixed 1g of water with 1g of salt?
What does soluble mean?
What does saturated mean?
How much salt can we put in water before we reach the point where it is no longer soluble?

2. Hypothesis:
A hypothesis is a statement that can be tested by experimentation. Such as:
I think water will be saturated at X% salt.
If we start with a volume of water and slowly add salt while stirring we will eventually get to a point where the salt will no longer dissolve.

3. Experiment:
The experimental section should tell exactly how you did the experiment. The more details you have here the better. You should have enough details so that someone else could read your procedure and repeat the experiment and get the same results.
Procedure
How much water will we start with?
If we convert this to grams, how much would this weigh?
Why did we use this amount?
What was the salt concentration initially?
We added salt in small increments. How much did we add at a time?
How long did we stir the solution before it was dissolved?
What percentage of salt did this make?
Was it all soluble?
How did the experiment procede after that initial step?
How much salt had we added when we noticed it was no longer soluble?
How long did we stir the solution before we decided that the solution was not soluble?
What was the experimentally determined range of the limit of solubility?
Did we take steps to further narrow this range?
If so, what were they?
Data and experimental observations
What salt concentrations did we attempt to make and which ones were soluble?

4. Analysis:
Is it possible to graph or chart the data so that it can be seen visually?

5. Conclusions:
You should express the results here.
Was you hypothesis accepted or rejected?
It is fine if your hypothesis is rejected. This just means that you learned something that you did not anticipate.
You did not find the exact maximum solubility of salt in water but you can express your results as a range. For example, the maximum solubility of salt in water is between X and Y%.

6. Repeat:
Is it necessary to repeat the experiment?
What could be gained by repeating the experiment?
Are there any related experiments that you can think of?
What temperature was the water in our experiment?
Do you think the solubility would the same at different temperatures?