Anna Chiprean, Braiden Wills, and Owen Daugherty

Honors Chemistry
9/15/16
Examining the Reactions between Liquids and Solids
In this lab, four different liquids (water, acid-base indicator, vinegar, and iodine solution)
were mixed with five different solids ( NaHCO3, NaCl, CaCO3, C12H22O11, and Cornstarch or
C6H10O5), and their changes in physical and chemical properties were recorded down. A physical
property is a property of an object that can be observes like texture or color. A chemical property
is a property of an object that can be changed after its chemical identity has also been changed.
Solids that may look and seem similar can be distinguished by mixing them with other
substances and observing their reactions. Certain solids react differently with certain liquids.
To begin this lab, each member of the group first put on safety glasses. The first rule is to
always be safe and this is important, no matter how small of a step it is. Then the three group
members would meet at their lab table to begin the lab. Already set up there were the five
different solids and some of the liquids. Some of the liquids were not already at the table, so the
group had to borrow those certain liquids from other groups doing the project.
Before doing anything with the solids or liquids, the group examined them for physical
properties that could set them apart from the other solids. The results of these initial viewings
(found directly above the data table) would help later, allowing us to be able to tell what
reactions occurred when certain liquids mixed with certain solids. Next, we started pouring the
solids into two well plates (two because one was not enough to hold every solid) by using a
scoopula. Each solid got its own row with four columns. When it would be time to pour the
liquid into the solids, they each got their own row and would have be poured into five columns,
assuring the fact that each solid would interact with each liquid. While doing this, the group
recorded any visual changes that occurred (like color or bubbling), and recorded any physical
changes by examining each new substance with a plastic pipette (like a solid becoming more
solidified or gel-like).
After this step, the group had to obtain two different mystery substances, this group chose
item A and item F, and try to determine which solid they were by mixing them with the liquids
and observing which reacted to the liquids in the same way that the original solids did. The same
procedure was used for these two solids as was used for the first solids. The group recorded all of
the data from the substances, then compared the information with the original substances. Once
the group came to a conclusion on what the unknown substances were, they began to clean up
the lab and make sure everything was back to where it was originally located.

Visual Descriptions

NaHCO3- Thick white powder

 NaCl- Thin, white, and crystalized
CaO3-Thin white powder
C12H22O11-Fine, white, and crystalized
C6H10O5-Thick white powder
Unknown A-Thick white powder
Unknown F- Crystalized, white, and thin

The reactions caused between the solids and liquids

WATER VINEGAR IODINE ACID BASE
SOLUTION INDICATOR
NaHCO3 SOLIDIFIED BUBBLED HARDENED TURNED
AND TURNED TURQUOISE
ORANGE
NaCl ABSORBED ABSORBED ABSORBED BECAME HARD
THE WATER THE VINEGAR THE IODINE AND TURNED
AND TURNED DARK BLUE
ORANGE
CaCO3 BECAME MORE BUBBLE BECAME HARD TURNED LIGHT
LIKE A LIQUID AND TURNED BLUE
BROWN
C12H22O11 LIQUIFIED LIQUIFIED LIQUIFIED AND BECAME A
TURNED SLIME AND
BLACK TURNED GREEN
C6H10O6 SOLIDIFIED BECAME A BECAME HARD BECAME HARD
THICK AND AND TURNED AND TURNED
STICKY BLACK ORANGE
CONSISTANCY
UNKNOWN A ABSORBD THE BUBBLED AND TURNED INTO BECAME SOLID
WATER AND TURNED INTO SLIME AND AND TURNED
HARDENED A GEL TURNED ORANGE
GREEN
UNKNOWN F ABSORBED ABSORBED LIQUIFIED AND TURMED INTO
THE WATER THE VINEGAR TURNED SLIME AND
ORANGE TURNED GREEN

Conclusion
The chart above describes the different reactions we observed between each solid and
every liquid we combined. We used this data to determine the identity of our unknown
substances. Without knowing the different reactions of the solids when combined with the
liquids, we wouldnt be able to classify our unknowns. It is believed that the two mystery
substances that this group picked were Cornstarch (for A). The conclusions we came to were
appropriate based on the data we collected because the sets of reactions we observed between
our two unknowns and the liquids mirrored the reactions between two of the named solids and
the liquids, meaning that we could determine that the unknowns were the same substance as the
known substances that had the same chemical reactions. The main reactions that helped to
determine which solid the mystery substances were was the acid-based solution and the vinegar.
There are several possible sources of error in this lab project. When distributing the solids into
the sections of the well plate, two different solids that were next to each other could have
accidentally been mixed together. This would change the chemical reaction in that section of the
well plate. Another possible source of error is that some solids may have required more water to
be mixed in with the liquid to see a legitimate chemical reaction. Finally, as another possible
source of error, we may have had to add more of a certain liquid to the solids in the well plate to
see a legitimate chemical reaction. This project could have been done better if we tested more
liquids to increase the chances of matching the right unknown with the right name of the solid.
This would most likely have made the results more accurate. This project could have also been
made better by mixing the solids with more than just liquids. Maybe if they were mixed with
gases, like oxygen or hydrogen, more results would have been discovered and more could have
been learned about the solids and what happens when they mic with other elements.