Iron acetylacetonate synthesis

Foundations of Chemistry Laboratory Manual EQUILIBRIUM and LE CHÂTELIER’S PRINCIPLE

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EXPERIMENT 4F

Equilibrium and

Le Châtelier’s Principle (This experiment is done in pairs. Note: you may wish to divide part 1 and 2 between partners.)

Useful background reading (this is not compulsory but may be helpful):

Tro, 4th and 5th Edition: Sections 15.3, 15.7, 15.8, 14.9 (Intro only) – Questions 1 and 2 Sections 12.1 and 12.6 – Question 3

What is the relevance of this prac…?

The prac brings together several concepts that underpin many areas of chemistry study. You will undertake your first laboratory synthesis in which you make a compound (much like cooking but you don’t get to lick the bowl!).

You will then analyse, using Le Châtelier’s Principle, how the reaction conditions may be optimised in order to maximise the amount of product you obtain. Le Châtelier’s Principle can be used to predict outcomes on a small scale such as your reaction vessel, on a miniscule scale such as in cells and on a planetary scale such as in Earth’s atmosphere.

Finally, you will examine how the charge of a species determines what solvents it can be

dissolved in. The type of possible intermolecular forces present between the solute and solvent

will dictate solubility and this is investigated during this practical. Intermolecular forces are

incredibly important and we take them for granted all the time. They are responsible for oxygen

being a gas at room temperature so we can breathe it in and water being a liquid at room

temperature so we can drink it.

Learning objectives (remember these are different to the scientific objectives):

On completion of this practical, you should have:

 Become familiar with the class of chemical compounds called “co-ordination complexes”

 Understand that a co-ordination complex consists of a metal cation at the centre

surrounded by ligands

 Recall the concept of equilibrium from lectures and consider how it relates to this

practical

A BIG Question

What is life?

Life is dependent on many things working

together in concert to give a cohesive whole.

One of the many things on which human life

is dependent is the process of equilibrium.

Equilibrium processes are involved in

controlling the acidity of our blood and the

transport of oxygen in our bodies, among

many other things.

Foundations of Chemistry Laboratory Manual EQUILIBRIUM and LE CHÂTELIER’S PRINCIPLE

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Fe3+ and 6 x O

H H

 Become familiar with Le Châtelier’s Principle and use it to predict and explain changes in

the equilibrium position based on a change of reaction conditions

Note: this practical has three parts and can be quite long. However, many of the questions

(including all of those in Part Three) do not rely on experimental results and can be answered