Richard Aldridge 10 Gordon
Extracting copper from malachite (copper carbonate) by using a redox reaction
Aim
Our aim is to extract copper from copper carbonate using a redox reaction.
What is a redox reaction
Reduction equals loss of oxygen
Oxidation is the gain of oxygen
O-Oxidation
I-is
L-loss
OF ELECTRONS
R-reduction
I-is
G-gain
Prediction
When I heat copper carbonate I expect it to turn from green to black because it’s changing the copper oxide. The copper carbonate is being reduced.
Copper oxide + carbon carbon dioxide + copper
2CuO C CO2 2Cu
Black Pink
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Peer Reviews
Here's what a star student thought of this essay
Quality of writing
Punctuation, grammar and spelling all to a good level. The candidate uses a clear, easy to read format with good use of subheadings.
Level of analysis
The candidate introduces and explains a redox reaction in good basic terms what I would expect from this level. The candidate incorrectly uses chemical notation. I'm not sure about the colour changes as they contradict themselves in their prediction and then in the experiment notation. Equations are done accurately. Their colour changes become more apparent during the method so this should be made clearer earlier on in the text. Their method is done well and is easy to read and understand. The sources of error are explained well and possible improvements also suggested. Percentage yield is calculated well but the decimal places used are not consistent, and this should happen to make the calculation as accurate as possible. They evaluate the experiment well.
Response to question
The focus of the question and the layout of the experiment is done very well for this level of essay. The candidate considers things that may go wrong in the experiment and accounts for them. They relate their data and observations to scientific equations which is good to show a linked understanding of the procedure of the experiment.