1.3 Lab: Sharpening Scientific Skills

Problem: How can I apply my skill as a scientist to learn more about a substance?

Materials: 1 250 ml beaker
1 hot plate
1 pair of beaker tongs
2-3 teaspoons of copper (II) sulfate pentahydrate

Observe and Describe the substance (state whether your observations are qualitative/quantitative or direct/Indirect)
Blue
Powder
Crystal
Shiny

Describe what tests or investigations you could do to learn more about the substance: freeze add water burn Procedure:
1. Place 2-3 teaspoons of copper (II) sulfate pentahydrate in the 250 ml beaker.
2. Place the beaker on the hot plate and turn the hot plate on to the lowest setting.
3. Observe the material as it heated, recording observations in Table 1.
4. When changes cease to occur, turn off the hotplate and remove the beaker from the hot plate using tongs.
5. Once the beaker is cool, rinse the beaker and place in the “to wash” container.

Table 1: Heating of copper sulfate pentahydrate qualitative observations
Stuff turn white stinks evaporating liquid fizzle Questions
Are any of your observations better described as inferences or conclusions?
All observations, no inferences or conclusions except for evaporating water.

What tests could you now do to learn even more about the material? Write a brief procedure and complete the test(s) if possible.
Since the material is CuSO4*5H20. We could add water to the white powder and see if it becomes blue again since most of the stuff that evaporated was water.