... accurate, certain conditions must be met: 1. The ion being analyzed must be completely precipitated. 2. The precipitate must be a pure compound. 3. The precipitate must be easily filtered. An example of a gravimetric analysis is the determination of chloride in a compound. In order to do a gravimetric analysis, a cation must be found that forms an insoluble compound with chloride. This compound must also be pure and easily filtered. Gravimetric analysis, by definition, includes all methods of analysis in which the final stage of the analysis involves weighing. In the most basic case, this could involve simply heating a sample to dryness and weighing to determine the amount of volatile components. In this account, however, I shall limit myself to gravimetric methods which rely on the use of precipitation reactions. The quantitative determination of a substance by precipitation followed by isolation and weighing of the precipitate ...

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