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Chemistry Forums for Students => High School Chemistry Forum => Topic started by: stupid199 on October 01, 2008, 05:36:34 PM

Title: Why did we only use sodium and nitrate compounds for our chemistry lab?
Post by: stupid199 on October 01, 2008, 05:36:34 PM

We did this experiment where we mixed things together. We mixed a bunch of compounds together that had sodium and nitrate together like
Sr(NO3)2 + NaCO3 then we mixed the Sr(NO3)2 with NaSO4 One of the questions was why were the compounds used in the experiment just sodium and nitrate opposed to other things
Does anyone know because I can't figure it out
Oh and the purpose of the experiment was to see which reactions would preform a precipitate.
Thanks

Title: Re: Why did we only use sodium and nitrate compounds for our chemistry lab?
Post by: enahs on October 01, 2008, 07:47:45 PM

Do you know of any insoluble salts of the nitrate ion or sodium ion?
Would you want any of those that are insoluble to interfere with your determination of what precipitated?

Title: Re: Why did we only use sodium and nitrate compounds for our chemistry lab?
Post by: stupid199 on October 02, 2008, 12:49:44 AM

I know but i'm stupid and I don't get it.
What do you mean exactly?

Title: Re: Why did we only use sodium and nitrate compounds for our chemistry lab?
Post by: enahs on October 02, 2008, 11:27:50 AM

1) Do you know of anything that you can mix with the sodium ion and form a precipitate in water?
2) Do you know of anything that you can mix with the nitrate ion and form a precipitate in water?
3) Would you want to be able to form a precipitate with those ions (sodium and nitrate), making it hard to tell if which ions formed the precipitate?

The answer to all those question is the same single word.