Free preview · Senior 5 Chemistry · Laboratory activities
Senior 5 laboratory activities
15 units · 30 activities. In every unit, activity 1 is improvised (simple local materials) and activity 2 is conventional (school laboratory equipment): two different experiments. Below are 5 free pages; then get the whole level in one PDF.
- Title and aim of every experiment
- Required apparatus and safety notes
- A clear, labelled drawing of the set-up
- Step-by-step procedure and a results table to fill in
- Observation and conclusion
- Three questions per activity, with sample results and answers at the end of the unit
See all 30 activities of this level and what each one is about
- Unit 1: Introduction to Organic Chemistry
- 1.1 Improvised · Same formula, different shapes: building isomers. To build models of structural isomers and see that one molecular formula can have several structures.
- 1.2 Conventional · Melting point as a test of purity. To determine the melting point of an organic solid and use it to judge its purity.
- Unit 2: Alkanes
- 2.1 Improvised · Chain length and volatility of fuels. To compare how quickly petrol, kerosene and diesel evaporate and relate this to the length of their alkane chains.
- 2.2 Conventional · Substitution of an alkane by bromine needs light. To show that an alkane reacts with bromine only in the presence of light (free-radical substitution).
- Unit 3: Alkenes and Alkynes
- 3.1 Improvised · Paper-clip polymers. To model addition polymerisation of alkene monomers into a polymer.
- 3.2 Conventional · Preparing ethene from ethanol and testing it. To prepare ethene by dehydrating ethanol over hot aluminium oxide and to test its properties.
- Unit 4: Halogenoalkanes
- 4.1 Improvised · The copper-wire test for halogens in plastics. To detect halogens in organic materials using the Beilstein (copper-wire) test.
- 4.2 Conventional · Rates of hydrolysis of halogenoalkanes. To compare how fast 1-chloro-, 1-bromo- and 1-iodobutane are hydrolysed and relate this to the carbon–halogen bond.
- Unit 5: Alcohols and Ethers
- 5.1 Improvised · Making ethanol by fermentation. To ferment sugar with yeast to produce ethanol and carbon dioxide.
- 5.2 Conventional · Oxidation of primary, secondary and tertiary alcohols. To distinguish primary, secondary and tertiary alcohols by their reaction with acidified potassium dichromate(VI).
- Unit 6: Carbonyl Compounds: Aldehydes and Ketones
- 6.1 Improvised · Glucose is a reducing sugar. To show that glucose, which contains an aldehyde group, reduces potassium permanganate faster than table sugar (sucrose).
- 6.2 Conventional · Distinguishing aldehydes from ketones. To use Tollens’ reagent, Fehling’s solution and 2,4-DNPH to identify carbonyl compounds and distinguish aldehydes from ketones.
- Unit 7: Carboxylic Acids and Acyl Halides
- 7.1 Improvised · How strong is the vinegar? A kitchen titration. To estimate the concentration of ethanoic acid in vinegar by titration with baking soda solution and a plant indicator.
- 7.2 Conventional · Properties of ethanoic acid compared with hydrochloric acid. To compare the reactions of a weak acid (ethanoic acid) and a strong acid (hydrochloric acid) of the same concentration, and to form an ester.
- Unit 8: Esters, Acid Anhydrides, Amides and Nitriles
- 8.1 Improvised · Traditional soap: hydrolysis of an ester with ash lye. To hydrolyse a fat (an ester of glycerol) with potash lye from wood ash, as in traditional soap-making.
- 8.2 Conventional · Preparing an ester by reflux. To prepare ethyl ethanoate from ethanol and ethanoic acid using an acid catalyst and heating under reflux.
- Unit 9: Amines and Amino Acids
- 9.1 Improvised · Why lemon is served with fish. To show that the smell of old fish is due to basic amines, which are neutralised by an acid.
- 9.2 Conventional · Chromatography of amino acids. To separate and identify amino acids by paper chromatography using ninhydrin to locate them.
- Unit 10: Phase Diagrams
- 10.1 Improvised · Boiling warm water in a syringe. To show that the boiling point of water depends on the pressure above it.
- 10.2 Conventional · Cooling curves and a simple two-component phase diagram. To find the freezing temperatures of mixtures of naphthalene and biphenyl and plot a simple eutectic phase diagram.
- Unit 11: Solutions and Titration
- 11.1 Improvised · Vitamin C in fruit juices. To compare the vitamin C content of different juices by titration with iodine.
- 11.2 Conventional · Back titration: calcium carbonate in eggshell. To find the percentage of calcium carbonate in eggshell using a back titration.
- Unit 12: Conductivity of Solutions
- 12.1 Improvised · Conductivity and concentration. To show how the conductivity of a salt solution changes with its concentration.
- 12.2 Conventional · Conductometric titration of hydrochloric acid with sodium hydroxide. To find the end point of an acid–alkali titration by measuring the conductivity of the mixture.
- Unit 13: Electrolysis
- 13.1 Improvised · Splitting water with a 9 V battery. To electrolyse water containing Epsom salt and compare the volumes of gas formed at each electrode.
- 13.2 Conventional · Measuring the Faraday constant with a Hofmann voltameter. To measure the volume of hydrogen produced by a known charge and calculate the Faraday constant.
- Unit 14: Enthalpy Change of Reactions
- 14.1 Improvised · Energy in a groundnut. To estimate the energy released by burning a groundnut using a simple calorimeter.
- 14.2 Conventional · Hess’s law: enthalpy of hydration of copper(II) sulfate. To find an enthalpy change that cannot be measured directly (anhydrous → hydrated CuSO₄) using Hess’s law.
- Unit 15: Entropy and Free Energy
- 15.1 Improvised · The rubber band that shrinks when heated. To observe that a stretched rubber band contracts when heated and explain this using entropy.
- 15.2 Conventional · ΔH, ΔS and ΔG from the solubility of potassium nitrate. To measure the solubility of potassium nitrate at different temperatures and find ΔH, ΔS and ΔG of dissolving.
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