Sheina Godovich

Laboratory Experiment #2
Colligative Properties: Freezing-Point Depression and Molecular Mass Determination
Introduction
The purpose of this experiment was to investigate applications of colligative properties, namely
freezing-point depression, and to determine the molar mass of an unknown solute from analysis of
cooling curves for pure cyclohexane and a solution of unknown in cyclohexane. The cooling curves were
constructed by plotting time-vs-temperature data of pure cyclohexane and the unknown-cyclohexane
solution when placed into a cooling bath.
Experimental Procedure
-

Preparation of pure cyclohexane sample

o A large Pyrex test tube was obtained and fixed in the ring stand.
o 15 ml of cyclohexane was measured and added into the test tube, which was then
closed with a stopper.
o A thermometer was situated in the test tube so that the tip was in the middle of the
liquid, not touching the sides or the bottom
Preparation of cooling mixture
o A 600 ml beaker was filled with 300 ml of ice.
o A 250 ml beaker was used to measure out 50 ml of solid NaCl, which was then added to
the ice-filled beaker and thoroughly mixed in.
o Another 300 ml of ice and 50 ml of NaCl were added to the 600 ml beaker.
o The slush was mixed until it reached a temperature of about -15C
Freezing point measurement in pure cyclohexane
o The test tube with cyclohexane sample was inserted into the cooling slush.
o The temperature was recorded every 20 seconds, starting from the value of 10.0C.
o This procedure was repeated three times by removing the test tube, warming it up,
reinserting it into the cooling slush, and again measuring the temperature every 20
seconds.
o The time-vs-temperature data were plotted and cooling curves for each run were
constructed
o TF was calculated for each run.
Freezing point measurement in cyclohexane solution of unknown
o 0.5 g of unknown organic solid were weighed and transferred into the cyclohexane test
tube.
o The unknown organic solid was allowed to dissolve in cyclohexane.
o The cooling slush was again brought to a temperature of about -15C.
o The test tube containing the unknown-cyclohexane solution was lowered into the
cooling slush and temperature readings were recorded every 20 seconds after the
temperature passed 10.0C.

Sheina Godovich

Determination of chemical formula of unknown compound

o The temperature readings were conducted three times, the time-vs-temperature data
were plotted and cooling curves were constructed for each run, and TF was calculated
for each run.
o The molecular mass of the unknown was calculated for each set of data and the
unknowns chemical formula was determined.
Discussion
-

Possible sources of experimental error

The results achieved by these investigations were very consistent - pure cyclohexane freezing point
temperatures of 6.8C, 6.7C, and 6.7C and freezing point temperatures of -0.5C, -0.5C, and -0.7C for
solution of the unknown in cyclohexane. While these are reliable, they were not very accurate, since the
actual freezing point of pure cyclohexane is about 6.5C. It is possible that the error in these results
stemmed from a cooling bath that was not adequately cold or the thermometer touching the sides of
the test tube of the cyclohexane. Another possibility is that the thermometer was slightly inaccurate;
consistently incorrect results seem to indicate some systematic error.
Conclusion
The cooling curves for pure cyclohexane (Figures 1, 2, 3) were constructed from the temperature
readings in Data Table 1. Extrapolation produced freezing point temperatures of 6.8C, 6.7C, and 6.7C,
which averaged out to about 6.7C. Extrapolation from the cooling curves for solution of unknown in
cyclohexane (Figures 4, 5, 6) resulted in freezing point temperatures of -0.5C, -0.5C, and -0.7C. This is
consistent with freezing point depression in a solution. The slanted cooling curves of Figures 4, 5, 6 also
show the effects of freezing a solution as opposed to a pure solvent.
The number of moles of unknown in each sample was calculated by using the formula
. Using the volume and density of cyclohexane, it was found
that there was 0.012 kg of solvent in each sample. KF is a constant (20 C kg/mol), which means that the
formula used became

. After the number of moles of

unknown was calculated for each sample, the molecular mass was calculated for each run using the
formula

and averaged among the three runs. The final

calculated molecular mass of the unknown was 115 g/mol. Substituting 12 g/mol for the molar mass of
carbon and 1 g/mol for the molar mass of hydrogen, the n value in C2n+2H2n was solved to find n = 3.5.
Thus, the final chemical formula was determined to be C9H7,which is not a possible hydrocarbon.
However, there was some experimental error in this investigation the freezing temperature of
cyclohexane should be lower than was measured. This would calculate to a higher n value than was
originally determined. If n is rounded to n = 4, the chemical formula would be C10H8, which is the
formula for naphthalene.

Sheina Godovich

Time vs Temperature for Freezing of Pure

Cyclohexane, Run 1
12
10

Temperature (C)

8
6
4
2
0
-2 0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

450

500

-4
-6
-8
-10

Time (seconds)

Figure 1 . Cooling curve (time-vs-temperature) for freezing of pure cyclohexane, run 1

Time vs Temperature for Freezing of Pure

Cyclohexane, Run 2
12
10

Temperature (C)

8
6
4
2
0
-2

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

-4
-6
-8

Time (seconds)

Figure 2. Cooling curve (time-vs-temperature) for freezing of pure cyclohexane, run 2

450

500

Sheina Godovich

Time vs Temperature for Freezing of Pure

Cyclohexane, Run 3
12
10

Temperature (C)

8
6
4
2
0
-2

50

100

150

200

-4

250

300

350

400

450

500

Time (seconds)

Figure 3. Cooling curve (time-vs-temperature) for freezing of pure cyclohexane, run 3

Time vs Temperature for Freezing of Unknown in

Cyclohexane, Run 1
12
10

Temperature (C)

8
6
4
2
0
-2

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

450

-4
-6

Time (seconds)

Figure 4. Cooling curve (time-vs-temperature) for freezing of unknown in cyclohexane, run 1

500

Sheina Godovich

Time vs Temperature for Freezing of Unknown in

Cyclohexane, Run 2
12
10

Temperature (C)

8
6
4
2
0
-2

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

450

500

-4
-6

Time (seconds)

Figure 5. Cooling curve (time-vs-temperature) for freezing of unknown in cyclohexane, run 2

Time vs Temperature for Freezing of Unknown in

Cyclohexane, Run 3
12
10

Temperature (C)

8
6
4
2
0
-2

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

450

-4
-6

Time (seconds)

Figure 6. Cooling curve (time-vs-temperature) for freezing of unknown in cyclohexane, run 3

500