Cristian Rodriguez May 13, 2013 Period 4 Whos the One to Blame?

Introduction: A titration is a lab technique used to determine the exact concentration of an unknown acid or base. Often times, acids and bases are identified based on their physical properties. An acid is a typically sour substance that gives away their hydrogen ions when dissolved in water with a base and turns litmus paper red. The characteristics of a base are the opposite of an acid. They absorb hydrogen ions and turn litmus paper blue The purpose of this lab is to identify who killed Mr. M by analyzing and matching the Molarity of the Crime Scene HCl acid sample to the Molarity of the suspects found in the investigation. In this lab, the acid samples will behave as the solvents of the solution or the substance that takes up most of the volume and the bases will behave as solutes or substances that take up less volume when both are blended. The result of this mixture should be a neutralization reaction, a reaction in which an acid and a base in an aqueous solution react to produce neutral water and salt. In addition, after the experiment, it will be necessary to identify the Molarity of HCl by using the formula (moles/ liters) in order to compare the different Molarity to find the killer.

Procedures: 1. Before starting, the students wore their goggles on and obtained the following materials: A 50 ml graduated cylinder A 50 ml burette, stand, and cylinder A 125ml Erlenmeyer flask Phenolphthalein indicator Glass funnel 2. The stopcock was turned towards the bottom and remained perpendicular to the tube of the burette in a closed position. 3. The burette was filled with 1.0 M NaOH base. Then the initial volume was recorded. 4. The graduated cylinder was utilized to measure 20ml exactly for each acid sample. 5. 3 drops of phenolphthalein indicator were added to the acid samples ( the acid remained clear). 6. The stopcock was opened until there was a slow stream of NaOH in order to titrate the unknown acid. 7. When the drops fell, the flask was swirled and the coloring disappeared. Observations were recorded in the results section. 8. When a solution was approaching neutralization, it became piker more rapidly and will later clear itself. 9. Then, the stopcock was gently, partially opened and little drops were poured into the acid sample. 10. When the coloring did not disappeared, the stopcock was quickly closed. If the solution had a very faint pink color, then it was a good titration. Though, if the titration was dark pink, it was necessary to redo the proceadures over in trial 2. 11. The Final Volume of NaOH in the burette was recorded. 12. The Total Volume (in mL) of NaOH was calculated. It neutralized the suspects sample and the data was recorded. 13. The burette was refilled with NaOH and the procedures were repeated with the other 3 samples.

Data: (Table 1): Data for in search of the Final Volume of NaOH Exact Initial Final Volume of Volume of Volume of HCl (mL) NaOH NaOH (mL) (mL) Total Volume of NaOH Used in titration (mL) 10mL Molarity of HCl (M) Observation / Notes

Suspect A Kirkpatrick HCl Acid

Trial 1

20mL

10mL

20mL

.5M.

-dark pink

Trial 2 Suspect B Larkin HCl Acid Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 1

20mL

20.5mL

30mL

9.5mL

-light pink

20mL

3mL

8.5mL

5.5mL

-dark pink

20mL

8.5mL

13mL

4.5mL

.225M

-light pink

Suspect C Nguyen HCl Acid

20mL

13mL

27mL

14mL

.7M

-light pink

Trial 2 Crime Scene HCl Acid Trial 1 Trial 2

20mL

27mL

43mL

14mL

-light pink

20mL

1mL

5.5mL

4.5mL

-dark pink

20mL

5.5mL

9.5mL

4mL

.2M

-light pink

Calculation Table 2: Acid Sample 1. Moles of NaOH

2. Moles of HCl

3. Molarity of HCl (moles HCl/Liters HCl used) 0.5 mol HCl

Suspect A Mrs.Kirkpatrick

.01 mol

0.1 mol HCl

Suspect B Mr. Larkin Suspect C Ms.Nguyen Crime Scene Sample

.0045 mol

.0045 mol HCl 0.23 mol HCl

.014 mol

.014 mol HCl

0.7 mol HCl

.004 mol

.004 mol HCl

0.2 mol HCl

Conclusion: At the end of the titration lab, it was concluded that Mr. Larkin is responsible for Mr. Mehkatarians death. The acid samples, the solvents of the solution, were mixed with drops of phenolphthalein and NaOH, both solutes, created a homogenous reaction. For example, the acid sample for Mrs. Kirkpatrick was mixed with both the phenolphthalein indicator and with NaOH, and turned the acid sample into a dark pink for the first trial and a light pink for the second trial. This indicates when the solution is light pink, it is a weak, less concentrates acid. However, if the acid was dark pink after the solvents were poured into it, then acid was strong thus more concentrated. After the experiment, the Moles HCl were found. But first, the equation was balanced for NaOH + HCL and obtained NaCl + H2O. The balanced equation demonstrates that an acid donates its

Hydrogen ions to the base when both are dissolved in water. When the moles of HCl were found and its Molarity, the Molarity of each acid sample, including the crime scene were compared in order determine the rue killer. In the end, the concentration of the acid sample of Mr. Larkin was similar to the sample found in the crime scene, indicating that Mr. Larkin was found guilty. Although the results and data were obtained, there were sources of error present as well. One source of error that affected the data was the testing materials such as the Erlenmeyer flask. The materials were not fully cleaned and perhaps the actual amount of NaOH needed when added to the HCl is inaccurate. As a result, multiple trials were performed for each acid sample, making trial 1 for each acid sample unreliable. Another source of error was the stand because it was loose. When NaOH was poured into the acid sample, the students had to read the scale of the 50mL burette; however, the burette was difficult to read because it was slanted. As a result, the column for the Final Volume of NaOH is unreliable. If the materials were fully rinsed before the experiment and if the stand was not slanting, the data could have been more accurate.