preparation of glitter crystals

step 1

measure 10cm cubed of potassium iodide solution in a 10 cm cubed measuring cylinder. Pour into a boiling tube

step 2

using a 25 cm cubed measuring cylinder, measure 10 cm cubed of lead nitrate solution and add to the boiling tube

step 3

with the same measuring cylinder from step 2, measure 5cm cubed of distilled water and add to the boiling tube

step 4

• half fill a glass beaker with tap water and place on a tripod and gauze

• heat with a Bunsen burner

• place the boiling tube in the glass beaker and stir with a glass rod as it heats up

• the solid should dissolve completely - may need to add a little more distilled water to the boiling tube, once the water in the beaker has boiled to achieve this

step 5

when the solid has dissolved, put the Bunsen burner off and place the boiling tube in a rack to cool down

describe the appearance of the two starting solutions

clear, colourless liquids/solutions

what did you see when the two solutions were mixed?

they create a yellow solution

when the mixture was heated, what did you observe?

the solid started to dissolve, mixture became clear and colourless

what did you observe as the mixture cooled down?

glitter crystals formed

how would you separate the glitter crystals from the mixture?

by filtration

what impurities would then be present

potassium nitrate

how would you get rid of the impurities?

rinse with distilled water

what else needs to be removed? How would you do this?

Water. Leave to dry / put in drying oven

summarise a method that would allow you to produce PURE and DRY glitter crystals in the flow map

1. MIX (reactants)

2. FILTER (to obtain ppt)

3. RINSE (to remove soluble impurities)

4. DRY (to remove water)