Heating Iron Filings and Sulphur

Let’s look at another experiment with iron fillings and sulphur as a compound.

Activity : Heating iron fillings and sulphur.

Materials: Iron fillings, sulphur, Bunsen burner, grinder, piece of paper, magnet, water, dilute hydrochloric acid, test tubes and test tube rack.

Method:

Mix a small amount of sulphur and iron fillings and put the mixture into a test tube.

Heat the mixture until it glows red.

Allow it to cool and grind the substance formed and spread it on a piece of paper.

Hold a magnet close to the substance.
a. Record your observations.

Put a little of the grinded substance in a test tube and add water to half fill the tube.

Shake it well for it to be allowed to stand for two minutes in a test tube rack.
b. Record your observations.

Put a little of the ground – up substance in a test tube and add some dilute hydrochloric acid.
c. Record your observations.

The experiment above is an example of a chemical change experiment. You will notice that after the experiment, the magnet could not pick the iron fillings. This is because after the mixture is heated, a chemical change took place and a new compound with different properties was formed. The new material is now iron (II) sulphide. The magnet could not pick it again. A compound does not show the properties of its constituent elements. The new compound thus iron (II) sulphide has new properties compared to the iron fillings and sulphur and they cannot be separated easily into its component elements.