Pre-Lab Questions
1) Suppose you do not filter out all of the solid material that does not dissolve in the
beaker in step 2.
a. How would this affect the value for your final mass of dry precipitate?
Explain
b.
How would this affect your calculated value for the percent composition
by mass of phosphorus in your sample? Justify your answer.
2) What are the benefits of decanting a solution?
3) Why is it important that you only add a small volume of solution to the filtering
apparatus at a time?