Distilled water must be used in the gravimetric analysis of chlorides. Why?

Short Answer

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Distilled water must be used in the gravimetric analysis of chlorides to avoid interferences caused by impurities, including chlorides, which are present in non-distilled water. These impurities can disrupt the reaction and cause inaccuracies in the analysis.

Step by step solution

01

Understanding Gravimetric Analysis

Gravimetric analysis is a method in analytical chemistry for determining the amount of an analyte (the ion under analysis) based on mass. The principle behind this form of analysis is that the mass of an ion in a pure compound can be determined and then used to calculate the amount this ion contributes to the weight of the compound. This method is commonly used to determine the amounts of chloride in a compound.
02

Role of Water Purity in Gravimetric Analysis

In a gravimetric analysis, water is used as the solvent in the reaction. If the water contains any chlorides or other impurities, it can interfere with the reaction, and these foreign elements can be precipitated along with the analyte, causing inaccuracies in the analysis.
03

The Reasons for Using Distilled Water

Distilled water is used in gravimetric analysis of chloride because it's free of contaminants. As it's water that has been boiled into vapor and condensed back into liquid in a separate container, impurities in the original water that do not boil below or at the boiling point of water stay behind, resulting in pure water. Therefore, with distilled water we eliminate the possibility of interference by impurities present in regular tap water.

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