[rakin]

I am hoping that someone can guide me in the right direction. I am a parent that homeschools a very curious boy who loves science. Recently he received a chemistry set which requires purchase of some chemicals separately. I have found most, but am having a hard time finding hcl 2mol. I do have muriatic acid for my pool, but do not know if it is compatible. (i.e. how do I get it to the correct requirements, does it have additives that would cause it to be unusable, ect.)
Also, I need a good place to purchase supplies, as I am sure that he will want to add more to his collection. All help will be appreciated.

[Corribus]

How about here:

http://www.amazon.com/Hydrochloric-Acid-High-Purity-1000ml/dp/B009J3KDCE

(Actually, never knew you could buy stuff like this on Amazon...)

You'll have to dilute it to the appropriate amount. What's the experiment? It's possible any acid will do, even white vinegar.

(I'm not sure what else is in the muriatic acid for swimming pools, or what the concentration is. It should say on the label though.)

[rakin]

Thanks.
The muriatic acid container says "Hydrochloric acid, 20° Baume (31.45%)" it doesn't list any other ingredients, but not being a chemist myself, I was not sure. Perhaps they use a buffer or something unknown to the regular consumer which is not listed.?.?.
As far as the experiments, I am not sure right off the top of my head. I have just been skimming through the book and haven't looked closely for which ones require hcl. With all of the science experiments that we do for school work, I am thinking of these as extra curriculum work, but he enjoys it so much that I was planning to incorporate sections into his lessons. (do the life science section while studying life science, ect). And I don't want to reach a point where he needs a chemical and not have it on hand. If it helps, the kit is the Thames and Kosmos C3000.
But as of right now, I will purchase through the amazon link unless someone verifies that the muriatic acid will work. Oh, and also what dilution equates to 2 mol.

[Corribus]

I think the pool acid would work. Baume is a (very old) unit of density. Haven't seen that in quite some time. But it probably doesn't matter.

31.45% is probably a w/w%, meaning it's 31.45% HCl by weight, the remainder being water. If I recall, this is about 10 M.  For a 2 M (I'm assuming the "mol" unit is supposed to be Molarity, since "mol" is not a standard notation for concentration), you would just dilute 1 part in 5. For what you're doing, precision probably isn't that important - just be in the ballpark.

Make sure you wear a pair of good quality, rubber gloves and safety goggles (can get both at a hardware store) when handling the concentrated stuff, wear close toes shoes and all that jazz, and add the acid to water, not the other way around. Also do it slowly. Dilution of acid can generate heat, and enough under the right circumstances to cause it to boil; also adding acid to water will minimize the splash hazard. If you're child is young, teaching him about chemical safety is as important as teaching him the experiment.

[Arkcon]

And do learn the definition of moles, and molarity.  Compare it with percent, and teach him how to calculate and convert units.  This is an important task for high school students taking chemistry.  Typically, students start with this task, then move on to diluting solutions of acids, and using them.  Its a learning method we tend to insist upon on this board.