Lab report by George Y. (9th Grade)
Lab group members : Noah, Jeffrey, George
Crystal growing lab is a process that to form solid crystals from a solution.
The purpose
The purpose of this lab was to gain information about the differences in the observations between Cobalt, Iron, and Magnesium Nitrate.
Steps
Our lab included the following steps
First, a solution containing each of the substance are prepared.
Next, a small crystal, known as a seed, is introduced into the solution. This seed provides a surface for the crystal to grow.
Then, the solution is cooled creating a supersaturated state. The dissolved substance begins to crystallize, attaching to the seed and forming larger crystals.
Finally, the crystals are removed from the solution, dried, and displayed.
Data and Observation
Through the data, there were numerous differences. Firstly, the colors initially of each Nitrate was different; furthermore, the colors of the nitrates also changed overtime.
On top of this, there were also differences in the observations of the strings that came out of the crystals.
For example, the String features of Cobalt Nitrate were Wavy, while the String features of Iron Nitrate were blob like. The overall conclusion that can be concluded from this lab is that different nitrates react differently to an aqueous solution.
Lessons Learned
We could have spaced out the metal nitrates further apart before dropping them in order to make sure that there was no mixing or contamination of the samples.
Additionally, we should have dropped the metal nitrates an equal distance from each other in the beaker of sodium silicate solution, since it would have made sure that we were observing the correct sample.
