Properties of substances, elements and compounds.

Welcome chemists!!! How are you today?

Here we are once more with our second experiment of the year! Ready to share it with you all.

Today we are going to study some of the main characteristics of sulfur and potassium permanganate.
Please, have a look at the following list containing all the properties that will be studied:

1- Element or a compound.

2-Chemical representation.

3- Smell

4- Colour.

5- Shine

6- Aggregation state.

7-Melting point.

8-Boiling point.

9-Magnetism.

10- Combustibility.

11-Solubility in water.

12-Solubility in organic solvent.

13-Reaction Vs. water

14-Reaction Vs. OH-

15- Reaction Vs. H+

16- PH in aquoeus solution.

You’ll find the results that we obtained.

BRIEF EXPERIMENT EXPLANATION

AIM:

To study the main properties of sulfur and potassium permanganate such as their combustibility, magnetism or their solubility in water (among other things).

In the following website  you can find the properties of sulfur:

http://www.chemicool.com/elements/sulfur.html

The following photograph shows the main properties of potassium permanganate:

MATERIALS :

The image shows the materials we have used for this experiment: beakers, water, sulfur and potassium permanganate. We also used a burner to test the combustibility of the substances and a thermometer to measure their boiling and melting points. We used a pH indicator to test the  pH of this subtances in aqueous solutions.

Photograph

*Note: We used a porcelain dish in order to observe the reactions, such as combustibility and acidity or basicity.

PROCESS :

1- Look for information or look in the labels of the bottles if our subtances are elements or compounds.

2- Smell the subtances and record our results in the data.

3- Observe both subtances and determine their shine , aggregation state and colour.

4- Take a test tube and mix each subtance with water, an acid and a base in a beaker.

-We poured water in a beaker, and then added some sulphur but nothing happened. Sulphur does not dissolve in water and it does not react. However there was reaction between the potassium permanganate and water. Potassium permanganate dissolves in water and produced a dark purple coloured solution.  

5-To test the pH of each subtance in aqueous solutions.

6-We burned the sulfur and we couldn´t see any flames but a reaction took place and we explain it in the following video:

Results

Conclusions:

As a conclusion, it is possible to work out and to study the different properties and characteristics of elements and subtances in the laboratory following a simple and easy procedure and using common equipment. On the other hand, it is important to take into account that some of the equipment might be dangerous when using it. We, as a group, think that in order to check a series of characteristics or properties such as combustibility correctly and safely, the process of burning the substance up should be carried out in a totally controlled environment, avoiding any risks and wearing safety equipment such as the lab coat or lab goggles.

IMAGES AND VIDEOS

Image showing all the equipment used and the table created

Image showing sulfur, the pure element that we worked with

Image showing potassium permanganate. This dark purple compound reacted with water, as the solution turned transparent-purple.

pH indicator paper used in order to determine the acidity or basicity of the compounds.

Video explaining properties: Reactions in water 

This video is longer, but contains more information