The Effect of Various Concentrations of Sodium Sulfide and Lead Acetate on the Formation of Detectable Lead Sulfide
The problem of the experiment was determining how various molarities of sodium sulfide and lead acetate react to form lead sulfide which can be used in order to show if an object may contain lead. This is important in the real world because lead can be very harmful to humans and the inability to effectively and cost efficiently determine if an object contains lead can lead to inhibited physical and mental growth, damaged nervous systems, fertility problems, kidney damage, high blood pressure, and with prolonged exposure, death as it replaces the essential nutrients in your body. To conduct the experiment, a three-factor design of experiments (DOE) was used testing various molarities of sodium sulfide and lead acetate to determine how each, along with the interaction between the sodium sulfide and lead acetate, affect the amount of detectable lead sulfide produced. The sodium sulfide and lead acetate reacted together in a spot plate, and then the color change from the reaction was compared to a scale to determine the amount of lead sulfide produced. The results of the experiment show that the amount of lead acetate was the only significant factor. As lead sulfide cannot be produced without sodium sulfide, this means that a lower amount of sodium sulfide is required to produce the same amount of detectable lead sulfide. While it is possible that there was an interaction, it was not statistically significant.
Research Conducted By:
Mohammed Saqib
Fitzgerald High School
Warren Consolidated Schools