Question

The concentration of sulfate ion in a solution is measured by precipitating the sulfate as BaSO4, filtering the precipitate on ashless filter paper, and heating the filter paper and precipitate in a tared crucible with a Bunsen burner. Which error will result in a sulfate concentration that is higher than the actual concentration?

Answer 1

Insufficient heating of the BaSO4 precipitate and filter paper can cause an overestimation of the sulfate ion concentration because water or other volatiles may not be fully removed, leading to a higher apparent mass of the precipitate.

Step-by-step explanation:

An error that could result in a sulfate concentration that is higher than the actual concentration in a precipitation experiment would be insufficient heating of the BaSO4 precipitate and filter paper. If the heating is incomplete, some of the water or other volatiles may not be fully removed, resulting in a higher apparent mass of the BaSO4 precipitate. This would cause an overestimation of the sulfate ion concentration when it is calculated based on the mass of the precipitate.

Additional sources of error could include contamination of the precipitate with other substances that fail to burn off during heating or interference from other ions present in the solution that may co-precipitate with the BaSO4. However, the user asked to ignore irrelevant errors, so they are not included in this analysis.

Answer 2

Answer: A glass fiber filter is used instead of ashless filter paper