62 DIY Science: Illustrated Guide to Home Chemistry Experiments
NoEST :
- Acetone from the hardware store is fine.
- You can produce ammonium acetate by neutralizing
clear household ammonia with distilled white vinegar and
evaporating to dryness.
- You can produce ammonium chloride by neutralizing clear
household ammonia with hardware store muriatic acid and
evaporating to dryness.
- Pure ammonium nitrate fertilizer from the lawn and garden
store is fine.
- Pure copper sulfate is sold as root killer by
hardware stores.
- Drugstore rubbing alcohol is often 70% ethanol (ethyl
alcohol), but check the label to make sure that it’s not
isopropanol (isopropyl alcohol).
- Glycerol under that name or as glycerin is available
in drugstores.
- Hardware stores sell hydrochloric acid as muriatic
acid. Make sure that the acid concentration is listed as
30% or higher.
- Lead metal shot is sold by sporting goods stores for use in
reloading shotgun shells.
Pure magnesium sulfate is sold by drugstores as
Epsom salts.
Pure oxalic acid is sold by hardware stores as wood bleach
(check the label to make sure).
Pure potassium hydrogen tartrate is sold by grocery stores
as cream of tartar.
Pure potassium permanganate as crystals or a solution is
sold by some pet stores for aquarium use.
You can produce sodium acetate by neutralizing a sodium
hydroxide solution with distilled white vinegar and
evaporating to dryness.
Hydrated sodium carbonate is sold as washing soda;
anhydrous sodium carbonate as soda ash.
You can substitute noniodized salt such as popcorn salt,
kosher salt, or rock salt.
Some hardware stores sell pure sodium hydroxide as crystal
drain cleaner (check the label to make sure that it’s pure).
Sucrose is table sugar.
Lawn and garden stores sell sulfur under that name.
Auto supply stores sell 35% sulfuric acid as battery acid.
“None” means that I was able to locate risk and safety
information for these substances and that no R-phrases
and/or S-phrases were provided.
“Not defined” means that I was unable to locate
published risk and/or safety information that included
specific R-phrases and/or S-phrases for these substances.
The absence of these R- and/or S-phrases does not indicate
that no risks exist or that no safety measures should
be taken. Refer to the container label for risk and safety
information.
For most chemicals, Table 4-5 lists a minimum quantity of
25 g or 25 mL, even if that amount is significantly more than is
actually needed for the lab sessions, because those quantities
are the smallest typically offered by specialty chemical
suppliers. Although some suppliers offer chemicals in smaller
quantities, packaging and labeling costs are substantial even
for small amounts, so it often costs little or no more to buy
25 g of a chemical than only a gram or two. Table 4-5 lists
smaller recommended quantities for a few relatively expensive
chemicals (such as iodine, ninhydrin, and silver nitrate) that are
required in small amounts.
Compare prices among several suppliers. Quite often, a
particular supplier has high prices for some chemicals and
low prices for others.
ATERNATIL vE SoURCES
Many of the chemicals in Table 4-5 are available,
sometimes under different names, from alternative
sources such as hardware stores, lawn and garden
stores, photography stores, and so on. The best source
of information on alternative chemical sources is
the Readily Available Chemicals list at http://www.
hyperdeath.co.uk/chemicals.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
