Procedure:
1. Each group member had to put on safety clothing such as goggles, apron and latex gloves first, before starting the experiment.
2. Someone had to clean the materials including all the beakers, stirring rod, and wash bottle before using it, using water and brush (if necessary) and drying them with a clean tissue paper.
3. After cleaning all the materials needed, one member had to cut some copper wire about 12 inches long, and made sure that the copper wire was polished/smoothed using a sandpaper/ or tissue paper.
4. The mass of the copper wire was measured to the nearest 0.01g and recorded the data that has been collected.
5. The copper wire was coiled into loose coil and attached on a splint (or popsicle stick), and was tested not to touch any sides of the 100 ml beaker and the bottom as well.
6. The coiled wire was removed from the beaker after making sure that the it didn't touch any sides of the beaker.
7. About 1.00g or 1.40g of silver nitrate crystals had been taken and placed in the 100 ml beaker, with the help of the teacher, and the mass was recorded to the nearest 0.01g.
8. After recording the mass, a small volume of distilled water was added in the beaker. Somebody in the group stirred the silver nitrate crystals using a stirring rod to dissolve it.
9. After dissolving the crystals, the stirring rod was rinsed with a wash bottle using only 5 ml of distilled water (as close as possible) where the water has been collected with another beaker.
10. The distilled water used in rinsing the stirring rod was collected and mixed with the beaker that has silver nitrate solution in it.
11. After adding the water used in rinsing, more distilled water was added until the beaker was full by about 3 cm from the top.
12. The coiled copper wire, which was still attached in the splint ( or popsicle stick) , was added in the beaker with silver nitrate solution in it.
13. The beaker was covered by aluminum foil and was allowed to remain undisturbed overnight. Some observations were recorded.
14. The mass of two, clean, 250 ml beaker were measured and recorded to the nearest 0.01g.
15. The splint with copper wire was lifted and transferred from the 100 ml beaker to one of the 250 ml beaker, while making sure that the silver crystal deposits wouldn't fall during the process.
16. The silver deposits were removed from the copper wire using a stream of distilled water (as little amount as possible, trying not to exceed 25ml) into the beaker.
17. The copper wire was dried after the silver was removed from it. Then the mass of the dry copper wire was measured and recorded to the nearest 0.01g.
18. When the silver metals have already settled at the bottom of the 250 ml beaker, as much amount of water as possible had been decanted without losing any silver metals during the process. (In the process where the splint has to be transferred to the 250 ml beaker from the 100 ml beaker, if some silver metals had fallen or has been removed during the process, make sure to decant it as well and transfer the collected silver metals in the 250 ml beaker where the other silver metals are.)
NOTE: The decanting process is explained at the bottom of this page highlighted in red.
19. The remaining silver metals, that were found along the sides of the beaker, were washed using small amount of distilled water. The distilled water used in washing the silver on the sides of the beaker was decanted as well.
20. The silver was allowed to be air dried overnight.
21. When the silver had been dried, the mass of the silver residue in the beaker was measured to the nearest 0.01g and was recorded.
22. After the experiment, the workstation has been cleaned, all equipment used were washed and dried, and all the litters were put in the trash can.
21. Using the collected data, the percentage yield was calculated and posted in the website, Moodle, as directed by the teacher.
**DECANTING PROCESS:
This process is done by pouring off a liquid leaving the precipitate (the silver residue in this case) at the bottom of the container (beaker). This process can be done using the stirring rod where the liquid is allowed to flow through it so that the liquid will not flow rapidly, preventing too much silver to be lost.