Chem Experiment

At the end of Term 2 the Chemistry 11 in my class students have been studying molar ratios and empirical formulas. This past ten days they did three experiments to determine the percent composition of various substances and thus determine their empirical formulas. First was the ratio of water molecules present in hydrated Manganese sulphate, then the percent purity of a sample of Calcium carbonate.  Finally, on Friday the students reduced a sample of Copper oxide, hopefully finishing with pure copper in the test tube, to find out the molar ratio of Copper to Oxygen, and thus deduce if they had Copper (I) oxide or Copper (II) oxide. As you can see there was a lot of flame, so the students had to pay close attention and have their wits about them. They all did admirably well, and found the best set of results I have seen for this experiment. It was Copper (II) oxide, CuO!
Mr. Oliver Amiel