IB-Adam Posted October 7, 2012 Report Share Posted October 7, 2012 Hello! We are supposed to come up with an experiment where we will be investigating a trend within a function group, preferably alcohols since we have got more than five different alcohols available. (Five is the magic number.) However, the only topics I can come up with are very complicated. For instance I had an idea of measuring the initial rate of reaction with a fixed acid by varying alcohols. and see of the intial rate of reaction would vary depending on the alcohols. This would not be an easy experiment since the product, an ester, would make its own layer, and it would therefore be hard to measure the pH of the remaining reactants accurately.So, do you have any ideas of what could be done? It should be easy and doable! It could either be about alkanes or alcohols, but preferably alcohols.Thanks in advance! / Adam Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LMaxwell Posted October 7, 2012 Report Share Posted October 7, 2012 You want us to think of topics for your IA? Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
IB-Adam Posted October 7, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 7, 2012 You want us to think of topics for your IA?"How about no, you crazy Dutch bastard"After having been helping others on IBsurvival, of course I want to see other people do the same thing to me. If you don't want to, then please don't mind commenting on threads similar to this one. / Adam Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
CkyBlue Posted October 7, 2012 Report Share Posted October 7, 2012 Why don't you try refluxing two different alcohols to find the boiling point? You could make a connection with the strength of the intermolecular forces. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LMaxwell Posted October 7, 2012 Report Share Posted October 7, 2012 You want us to think of topics for your IA?"How about no, you crazy Dutch bastard"After having been helping others on IBsurvival, of course I want to see other people do the same thing to me. If you don't want to, then please don't mind commenting on threads similar to this one. / Adam Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sammie Backman Posted October 7, 2012 Report Share Posted October 7, 2012 Drink them and see what happens. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
IB-Adam Posted October 7, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 7, 2012 Why don't you try refluxing two different alcohols to find the boiling point? You could make a connection with the strength of the intermolecular forces.Oh I forgot to mention, we are not allowed to work with boiling point. Drink them and see what happens.Let's drink together. I take ethanoic acid, you take hexanoic acid. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emmi Posted October 8, 2012 Report Share Posted October 8, 2012 Perhaps do a combustion analysis of the alcohols you have available to you using a calorimeter and see if there is a trend in the heats of combustion? Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
IB-Adam Posted October 8, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 8, 2012 (edited) Perhaps do a combustion analysis of the alcohols you have available to you using a calorimeter and see if there is a trend in the heats of combustion?I've also had that thought but it would be a bad design lab (according to my teacher) since there would be heat loses.How about: Measuring the initial rate of reaction between different alcohols pure sodium (Na) by measuring the volume of the hydrogen gas produced. Do you think that that would be doable?Update: Experiment done, yes it was doable Edited October 14, 2012 by IB-Adam Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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