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Calculating Error - Help?


Mel

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Okay, so I've been struggling in chemistry all year..

I'm in HL right now but I'm switching into SL next year.

My problem is that I have one final experiment that I have to do, and I am completely and utterly lost.

Can anyone help me with my error calculations?

(PS: I did a titration)

example:

pipette = +/- 0.06 mL

graduated cylinder = +/- 1.0 mL

Ca(OH)2 = +/- 0.001 g

titration (HCl mL difference) = +/- 0.4

& PS: I'm having trouble figuring out the molarity of the Ca(OH)2

I dissolved 0.1g of it in 100mL of water and titrated that with HCl, trying to figure out how stirring affected an equilibrium constant.

Edited by Aboo
Does the thread title really have to be in Caps?
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Okay I'm probably no help whatsoever because I never learned how do figure out error.

However, stirring wouldn't affect the equilibrium constant--only temperature does.

Edit: Also, I'm not sure if you're asking, but to find [Ca(OH)2], you can convert grams to moles. Then multiply this by two because of the subscript. Once you have the number of moles, you can get molarity b/c your volume=.1L.

Edited by sweetnsimple786
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For molarity of Ca(OH)2, mols = mass / mol mass

So mols Ca(OH)2 = 0.1 / molar mass of Ca(OH)2.

Mols = conc x volume

So mols Ca(OH)2 = conc x 0.01 (0.01 being, unless I am mistaken, which I often am, 100mls in dm3)

I don't have a periodic table to work it out.

Do you have that big blue textbook by Geoffrey Neuss? He explains error calculations very well at the back of it :P

Edited by Sandwich
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  • 1 month later...

i think to find error it is the smallest measurement marking on the measurement instrument you are using and divide that by half. for example if you are using a regular ruler then the smallest measurement marking is 1mm and thus the error is +/- 0.5mm

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You appear to know how to calculate, it's just the errors troubling you, right?

When you add/subtract two values you add their absolute uncertainties.

Eg, 2+-0.2 + 4 +-0.5 = 6 +_0.7

When you multiply/divide you add the percentage errors, which are found by

absolute error/measurement x 100%

So if the value is 4 +- 0.2, the percentage error is

0.2/4 x 100%

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