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Titration Lab
Group Members:
NaOH(aq) →
Na+(aq) + OH-(aq)
In contrast of the data given above, weak acids and bases do not dissociate completely into its ions in
an aqueous solution. A great and clear example of a weak acid is acetic acid (CH3COOH), present as
the main ingredient of vinegar today. Acetic acid partially dissociates to form hydronium and acetate
ions CH3COO- in water:
+ -
CH3COOH + H2O(l) ⇌
H3O (aq) + CH3COO (aq)
As you notice from the equation of the reaction above, the arrows pointing in both directions indicate
that it is an equilibrium. According to BBC (2014), a chemical equilibrium happens when the
concentrations of reactants and products do not change, but the forward and reverse reactions have not
stopped as they are still going on at the same rate as each other. “The strength of a weak acid depends
on how much it dissociates: the more it dissociates, the stronger the acid. In order to quantify the
relative strengths of weak acids, we can look at the acid dissociation constant Ka the equilibrium
constant for the acid dissociation reaction.” (KhanAcademy, 2018). The equilibrium is expressed as in
the ratio of the concentration of products over reactants. Let’s say for Ammonia (NH3), a weak base,
is dissociated into its ions; ammonium (NH4+) and hydroxide (OH-) ions:
H2O(l) ⇌
NH3(aq) + NH4+(aq) + OH-(aq)
To find the acid dissociation constant Ka, all variables in the equation must be evaluated into the units
of molarity/concentration and only variables that are in forms of gas and aqueous are accounted into
the equation; therefore, the equation would be shown as:
[N H4] [OH− ]
Ka = [N H3]
As seen in the equation above, the base dissociation constant Kb would appear in the same manner,
switching acids into bases, hydroxide ions into hydrogen ions, as the concentrations of the products
still remain as the numerator, and the concentrations of reactants as the denominator. In the same way
as strong acids, strong bases are “base that ionizes completely in aqueous solution”(KhanAcademy,
2018). Common strong bases include Group 1 and Group 2 elements with a Hydroxide (OH-) group.
On the other hand, weak bases partially ionize in water. For instance, if ammonia were to ionize, only
some of its molecules would accept a proton from water to form ammonium ions and hydroxide ions.
Equilibrium forms as the ammonia molecules continue to exchange protons with water, while the
ammonium ions continue to donate protons back to hydroxide. Some common weak bases include
neutral nitrogen (N) containing compounds such as ammonia, trimethylamine and pyridine. Today,
there are three theories to define acids and base. The Arrhenius theory states that “acids are substances
that dissociate in water to yield electrically charged atoms or molecules, called ions, one of which is a
hydrogen ion (H+), and that bases ionize in water to yield hydroxide ions (OH−).”(The Editors of
Encyclopædia Britannica,1998). Hydrogen ions when combined with water is called as hydronium ion
(H3O+). As for Bronsted lowry theory. The terms of acids and bases are different when compared to
Arrhenius Theory. As for Bronsted lowry, there are acid-base pairs. An acid, in terms of Bronsted
lowry are “any species that is capable of donating a proton—+H+”(KhanAcademy, 2018). It pairs up
with a conjugate base where it forms up after receiving a proton from an acid. As for a base, the
theory says that “is any species that is capable of accepting a proton, which requires a lone pair of
electrons to bond to the H+”(KhanAcademy, 2018). A Bronsted lowry base pairs up with a conjugate
acid where it is formed after its base pair accepts proton. It is very obvious to notice the Bronsted
lowry acid-base pairs since the species of the conjugate acid-base pairs have the same molecular
formula, but the acid would have an extra H+ when compared to its conjugate base. In 1923 G. N.
Lewis suggested another way of looking at the reaction between H+ and OH- ions. “In the Bronsted
model, the OH- ion is the active species in this reaction it accepts an H+ ion to form a covalent bond.
In the Lewis model, the H+ ion is the active species. It accepts a pair of electrons from the OH- ion to
form a covalent bond.” (Bodner, n.d.). In other words, the acid is defined to be an electron pair
acceptor, whilst the base is an electron pair donor.
To determine how much the solution is acidic or basic is by using the pH scale. According to Oxford
University Press (2018), the pH scale is a figure expressing the acidity or alkalinity of a solution on a
logarithmic scale on which 7 is neutral, lower values are more acid and higher values more alkaline.
The pH is equal to −log₁₀c, where c is the hydrogen ion concentration in moles per litre. It is a
logarithmic measurement of the concentration of hydrogen ions. The scale ranges from 1 to 14, the
less the number it has, the more hydrogen ion it has. The “p” stands for power, and the “H” represents
the symbol of hydrogen; so pH can also stand for “power of hydrogen”.
pH = -log[H+]
An acidic solution releases hydrogen ions when it ionizes, therefore it situates in the pH scale below 7.
Whereas, basic solutions, release hydroxide ions when it ionizes, hence it has a pH above 7. A very
strong acid would have a pH of 1, and a very strong base would have a pH of 14. Neutralization is the
process of mixing a base and an acid to become a neutral solution. A neutral solution would have a pH
of 7. It is neither acidic or basic. This happens because the number of hydrogen ions and hydroxide
ions are at an equilibrium. “The measurement of the hydrogen ion concentration (or pH) at each point
in the titration allows us to find the location of the equivalence point, that volume of base which reacts
completely with the unknown concentration of acid.” (CCP, 2011). The equivalent point is the ideal
point for a perfect titration. It is the point where both moles of the substance are equal, and completely
react with each other.
At the equivalence point, the amount of base added is chemically equal to the amount of acid present.
When they are chemically equal, it implies that “the number of molecules of base added is just enough
to completely react with all of the molecules of acid originally present -- so that all of the acid
molecules are, in a sense, used up.” (CCP, 2011). By knowing the volume of base at the equivalence
point, as well as the concentration of the base, a lot of other things including the initial concentration
of the acid could be calculated. From that data, in a sense, the concentration of our analyte,
hydrochloric acid (HCl) could be calculated.. By doing titration, we could assume the volume of
NaOH added and the resulting pH of the solution. According to the reaction between HCl and NaOH,
1 molecule of HCl would exactly react with 1 molecule of NaOH as both are strong acids and bases.
Therefore, the number of moles of both the acids and the bases in the solution are equal at the
equivalence point. By multiplying NaOH concentration with its volume, we could get the number of
moles of NaOH used in the experiment. Since, both HCl and NaOH have the same number of moles at
the equivalence point, the unknown number of moles of HCl in the solution could be found by
comparing it with the number of moles of NaOH since they have the same amount.
moles of N aOH (mol)
volume of solution (L) × v olume of solution (L) = moles of N aOH at equivalence point (mol)
moles of N aOH at equivalence point (mol) = moles of HCl at equivalence point (mol)
Now finally, we can calculate back to find the concentration of our analyte, HCl at the equivalence
point.
Indicators are added to flasks of analytes to help determine the approximate pH of the solution. In this
experiment, phenolphthalein and bromophenol blue are used. According to National Science
Foundation (2016), the endpoint of a titration indicates once the equivalence point has been reached.
Indicators change color at this point. Phenolphthalein has an ending point around pH of 7-8, while
Bromophenol blue has the ending point at around pH 3-4.6. If phenolphthalein is used, the color
would appear clear if it is considered to be acidic; pink as basic; and light pink at equivalence point.
The higher the pH is, the stronger the pink color is. As for, Bromophenol blue, the color would appear
as yellowish before its ending point; green at its equivalence point; and bluish purple when it exceeds
its ending point. NaOH should be cautiously added until it reaches the equivalence point; however,
one drop could be crucial in shifting a solution off from the ideal point. This would help ensure that
the calculated acid concentration is as accurate to the true value as possible.
2. Label the pH scale below with acid, base, and neutral, indicating number for each.
3. On the scale, use an arrow to show where your equivalence point is located.
4. Write the neutralization reaction that occurs between hydrobromic acid (HBr) and lithium
hydroxide (LiOH).
H Br + LiOH → LiBr + H 2 O
Data table: Amount and concentration of base and acid used in titration
pH 8.14 4.03
Calculation
For phenolphthalein
N aOH + HCl → N aCl + H 2 O
0.1 M ? M
5.12 mL
With regard to the experiment, a summarized procedure can be broken down into the
following steps. Firstly, we record the molarity of sodium hydroxide solution, have 100 millilitres of it
in a clean beaker, then we use the sodium hydroxide solution to thoroughly rinse a buret for 3
times(make sure that the sides of buret are coated with base). Next, we draw approximately 10
millilitres of acid solution and transfer it into Erlenmeyer’s flask, then add about 2-3 drops of
phenolphthalein into it. When we finish the process, place the flask under the buret and start adding
the base solution carefully and slowly until the indicator changes color to “light pink”. Finally, record
the final reading of the buret, and measure the pH of the solution using pH meter. Repeat the steps
above, but replacing phenolphthalein with Bromophenol blue.
There have been some errors accidentally made during our lab. The most conspicuous one is
made during when we were using an electric pipette filler. When we were lifting the pipette up after
finishing drawing up the solution, the pipette suddenly detached from the filler as it fell into the
container, making loud sound that we did think it got broken. Luckily, it didn’t. Another error was
common one for this lab. We, for few times, added too much base solution that the indicator changed
its color to the one which was not a desirable, or to the one we were not actually looking for.
However, with a few more attempts, we were able to accomplish the perfect, flawless color.
Post-Lab Questions
1. How would it affect your results if you used a beaker with residual water in it to measure out
your standardized sodium hydroxide solution?
Ans: The concentration of the solution might be altered because doing so can dilute the
solution, thus affecting the concentration. pH will be affected too as two solution with
different pH, when mixed together, will counterbalance each other’s pH, resulting in final
different value of pH.
2. How would it affect your results if you used a wet Erlenmeyer flask instead of a dry one when
transferring your acid solution from the volumetric pipette?
Ans: The pH of acid after being transferred into the flask might be slightly affected due the
initial difference in pH between the water of wet Erlenmeyer flask and the acid solution. The
concentration of acid might be slightly affected as water of wet Erlenmeyer flask can dilute
the acid solution.
3. How do you tell if you have exceeded the equivalence point in your titration?
Ans: The indicator, for a very short moment, changes its color to desirable color, then quickly
changes its color again to the one that is not desirable(For phenolphthalein, desirable color is
“light pink” and if too much base solution is added, the color will be “dark pink”. For
bromophenol blue, desirable color is “green” and if too much base solution is added, the color
will be “purple” or “blue”)
4. Vinegar is a solution of acetic acid (CH3COOH) in water. For quality control purposes, it can
be titrated using sodium hydroxide to assure a specific % composition. If 25.00 mL of acetic
acid is titrated with 9.08 mL of a standardized 2.293 M sodium hydroxide solution, what is
the molarity of the vinegar?
Ans:
Conclusion
In conclusion, the objective of the lab is to find the the concentration of unknown hydrochloric acid
by applying knowledge from acid-base chapter and to find the pH of the final solution. What we’ve
learned includes the effects of distilled water on concentration and pH of a solution, how to tell if the
equivalence point is exceeded regarding a color of an indicator, importances of rinsing glassware in
titration labs, etc. Finally, one of the most important result we expected was the same data of
concentration and pH of two beakers of unknown hydrochloric acid for two indicators, Bromophenol
blue, and Phenolphthalein as using two different indicators in this lab shouldn’t differ or alter in final
result. In other word, even though the amount of bases used in the titration process is different as there
are two different indicator, the results of hydrochloric acid concentration must be the same.
Suggestion
1. Clean a buret and a pipette carefully, make sure that they are clean, and not contaminated by
other substances
2. As adding additional distilled water into the solution changes the result of the experiment,
NaOH from the buret should be dropped more carefully, to prevent the base stick at the wall
of the flask, so that distilled water will be use less. Small amount of water will not affects pH,
but it does if water is added in large amount
3. As the glasswares used in the experiment are made of glass, then the result read from the
buret and pipette should be read at the meniscus point, and at eyes level, to avoid the error of
the experiment
4. Be careful when read the result from the buret because the scale 0 is at the top of the buret,
not the bottom
5. Make sure that the buret is set vertically, not incline, so that the result will be read accurately
References
Bodner Research Website. (n.d.). The Lewis Definitions of Acids and Bases. Retrieved from
http://chemed.chem.purdue.edu/genchem/topicreview/bp/ch11/lewis.php
National Center for Biotechnology Information. (n.d.). PubChem Compound Database; CID=14798.
Retrieved from https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/14798
National Science Foundation. (2016, February 7). Titration Fundamentals. Retrieved from
https://chem.libretexts.org/Demonstrations_and_Experiments/Basic_Lab_Techniques/Titratio
n/Titration_Fundamentals
New World Encyclopedia. (2018, January 22). Hydrochloric Acid. Retrieved from
http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Hydrochloric_acid
Work log
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