Ok, so organic chem I sucks. A lot. But a review assignment to show that we can still do stoichiometry has stumped me. As in, I can’t find the density of triphenylmethanol (or tritanol, or alpha,alpha-diphenylbenzenemethanol, or etc.). I even looked at an MSDS sheet, and it was missing. www.inchem.org was also of no help. Google has let me down, my friends. And my professor is conveniently out of his office.
So, I guess the question is, do any of you guys have a book laying around entitled “Densities of compounds whose densities are mysteriously absent from their MSDS sheets”? Or does anyone know where I can find a more encyclopedic listing of things besides inchem.org?
Google “MSDS” and then poke around in the various sites until you find a suitable one. In answer to your original question, its density appears to be 1.1884. See trityl alcohol
The Merck Index gives 1.199. That should probably be the first place you look; most compounds you’d encounter in an introductory course should be included. Densities in the Merck Index usually have the temperature and pressure noted, and you may want to include that in your report.
When you need to include references for your physical properties, it will look better (especially to older profs) if you use a trusted source like the Merck Index rather that a website, even an official one. If the Merck Index doesn’t include the compound, try the CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics or a chemical company catalog. MSDS are also trustworthy, and you should be referring to the MSDS for all compounds anyway.
Density, like melting point, isn’t usually terribly hard to find out. Some physical properties, pK[sub]a[/sub] for example, can be much harder to find. For these, you may need to do a literature search.
I didn’t figure this out until I took pchem. That was when I learned true pain. :eek:
Sooo, no much more to add here really, but you may have been having trouble because the melting point of the substance in question is 163 C. Unless you’re planning on melting it, I don’t see why knowlege of its density would be needed (other than for meeting the requirements of anal lab instructors )
Basically a review worksheet, to show that we can get from mols of this to how many mL it is.
Oh, and is there some way to access the Merck index online? I had poked around at merck.com, but had assumed that since it’s such a huge and popular book, that I’d have to pay to gain access to the secrets within.
It might just be easier to go onto a site like Half and see if you can pick up a Merck or a CRC that’s a couple of editions old. Most, if not all, of what you’d generally be wanting it for doesn’t change from edition to edition. I think someone I knew picked up a CRC that was less than five years old for something like 10 bucks.
You people are nuts. Physical chemistry I could almost do in my sleep. Organic chemistry? Let’s just say that the tests were labeled “creative chemistry” by me, and I’m sure the people grading them used to fight over who had to wade through mine.
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