Theory Flashcards
What is qualitative analysis?
Revealing the identity of elements and compounds in a sample.
What is quantitative analysis?
Indicates the amount of each substance in a sample.
What is the equation for calculating weight percent?
(Mass of solute / Mass of solution) * 100.
What is the equation for calculating volume percent?
(Volume of solute / Volume of solution) * 100.
What is the equation for calculating weight/volume percent?
(Mass of solute / Volume of solution) * 100.
How is ppm calculated?
(Mass of solute / Mass of solution) * 106.
How is ppb calculated?
(Mass of solute / Mass of solution) * 109.
What is error?
The difference between the measured and real values.
It is also the estimated uncertainty of a measurement or experiment.
What is a benefit of using the median?
The median is less affected by outliers.
What is precision?
Describes the reproducibility of measurements.
What is accuracy?
Indicates the closeness of the measurements to the true or accepted value.
What are the three types of error?
Random (indeterminate) error.
Systematic (determinate) error.
Gross error.
What is a random error?
Data is scattered approximately symmetrical around a mean value.
This affects precision and is dealt with statistically.
What is a systematic error?
An error that causes the mean to be displaced from the known value. All the values are either too high or too low.
This affects accuracy.
What is a gross error?
Gross errors are often large and very obvious and cause outliers.
These can be avoided by carrying out replicate measurements.
What are the three sources of systematic error?
Instrumental errors - The measuring device hasn’t been calibrated correctly so all values are too high/too low.
Method errors - Caused by inaccuracies in physical or chemical behaviour of reagents/reactions used in determination (for example, slow or incomplete reaction).
Personal errors - Where a personal judgement is used such as where the meniscus is on a titration.
How are the three sources of systematic error reduced?
Instrumental error - careful calibration and maintenance/servicing of the instruments and equipment.
Method error - very difficult to reduce as the ‘true’ value of the determination is often not known accurately.
Personal error - good technique, discipline and care over carrying out and recording measurements.
What are three approaches to reducing systematic error?
Test calibrations through analysis of certified standards.
Using two or more independent analysis techniques to cross check.
Check absolute response and baseline through the analysis of blanks.
Why are separations important?
Accurate chemical analyses can only be carried out on samples that are pure or free from other components that could interfere.
What are the two general categories of separation?
Separations that occur between two bulk phases.
Separations that occur between a bulk phase and a thin layer.
What are some common bulk phase separations?
Gas-Gas: Gaseous Diffusion
Liquid-Liquid: Distillation
Liquid-Solid: Crystallisation
Solid-Gas: Sublimation
Liquid-Gas: Liquid-gas extraction
Liquid-Liquid: Liquid-Liquid extraction
What is crystallisation?
The preferential formation of a desired solid precipitate of the analyte from a mixture that also contains interfering solutes. The interferent remains in solution and can then be discarded.
How is the feasibility of crystallisation determined?
The difference in the solubility of the interferent and the desired analyte.
What is inclusion?
Impurities occupy a lattice site within the crystal framework.
What is occlusion?
Impurities become trapped within the crystal framework.
What is distillation?
Separates molecules based on their volatility.
What is a liquid-liquid extraction?
A separation technique based on a compound’s solubility in different, immiscible solvents (usually organic and water).
What considerations must be taken when choosing the solvents for a liquid-liquid extraction?
The solubility of the analyte in each solvent.
Beware of solvents that are mutually soluble with each other or are prone to form azeotropes.
The densities must be sufficiently different otherwise an emulsion could form.
Is it more efficient to do one separation with 30 cm3 of solvent or three separations with 10 cm3?
Three separations with 10 cm3.
What technique can be used for compounds with extremely low distribution constants?
Liquid-liquid continuous extraction.
What is the process of a liquid-liquid continuous extraction?
Solvent is continually distilled and condenses into a long tube immersed in the water containing the solute to be extracted.
What is a process to extract a lipid from a solid and how does it work?
Solid-liquid Soxhlet Extraction.
The sample is placed into a thimble and the solvent is continually delivered to it via redistillation. The solvent gradually extracts the analyte from the solid matrix and when the thimble is full of solvent it is siphoned back to the solvent reservoir to maintain maximum efficiency.
The analyte must be separated from the solvent before analysis is done.
When is a solid-liquid Soxhlet extraction done?
When the compound has a very limited solubility in the solvent.
What are the two basic types of chromatography?
Column chromatography where the stationary phase is in a tube.
Planar chromatography where the stationary phase is on a plate.
What is chromatography?
The separation of two or more substances by virtue of their different affinities toward a stationary phase and a mobile phase that moves in relation to the stationary phase.
What is partition chromatography?
The mobile phase is a liquid that is coated on a solid support.
What is adsorption chromatography?
There is a solid stationary phase and the compounds adsorb onto the stationary phase.
What is ion-exchange chromatography?
The solid stationary phase is charged and so attracts ions.