HEATING AND COOLING CURVES
OF STEARIC ACID USING THERMOMETER LAB
Purpose:
To understand that a phase change is a physical change.
To practice techniques of heating materials using the Bunsen burner.
To study the effects of heating and cooling a pure substance through a change of phase.
To construct heating and cooling curves of a pure substance using experimental data.
To determine the freezing and melting point temperatures of the pure substance.
Discussion:
In this laboratory investigation you will take Stearic Acid and determine its freezing
point and melting point experimentally.
When the data collection is completed, your graph should reflect pictorially what happens
to a pure substance as its temperature is raised and lowered over a temperature interval that includes
its freezing and melting points. The graph will also show how the freezing and melting points of a
pure substance are related.
Safety: Goggles and Aprons
Equipment:
Sample test tube containing Stearic Acid
Goggles
Apron
Beaker – 400 mL
Thermometer
Ring stand
Iron ring
Wire gauze
Test tube clamp
Test tube rack
Bunsen burner
Stop watch/timer with second hand
Material:
Steric Acid Test Tube
Water
