3. Chemical Reactions
Combustion Apparatus
Struggling with General Chemistry?
Join thousands of students who trust us to help them ace their exams!Watch the first video
Video duration:
2mRelated Videos
Related Practice
Skip to main content
Now remember that combustion analysis is just an analytical process that helps us to determine the empirical formula of a compound. Combustion analysis is accomplished through the use of a combustion apparatus. Now this apparatus is where the sample is vaporized and goes through combustion by traveling between chambers. So here we have a basic type of combustion apparatus. Here it has chambers a through d. What happens first is that we have to place our sample within chamber a and we allow oxygen gas to enter this. Remember, a key component of a combustion reaction is the presence of o two as a reactant. Now chamber a, we've placed our sample within it and this is where the sample is vaporized. So it's changed into a gaseous state. It then travels into chamber b, and chamber b is where hydrogen is converted into water. So if this sample possesses hydrogen, it gets converted into water and the nonmetal portions of this sample gets converted into some type of gas. Now if that gas if that nonmetal happens to be carbon, it's normal for it to become c02. We talked about non hydrocarbons. So if it's nitrogen, it would become n o 2. If it's sulfur, it becomes s o 2. If it's one of the halogens, it becomes a diatomic molecule. Now, traveling out of chamber 2, this is where we have the splitting of water and our gas. In chamber c, this is where water is being trapped. And again, based on the identity of the non metal, we could make different types of gases. C o 2 if the non metal was carbon, n o 2 if it's nitrogen, s o 2 if it's sulfur, and then one of the diatomic halogens if it happens to be a halogen. Now what comes out after all of this is any excess oxygen that remains, and this is possibility. Sometimes a combustion reaction can happen in an environment that's rich in oxygen. The reaction takes place, but there's still oxygen all over the place. So just remember, combustion analysis requires the use of a combustion apparatus. And now that we've seen this apparatus, let's take a look at some different types of combustion analysis questions that kind of go hand in hand with understanding this apparatus.
06:45
