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Laboratory Manual For Acid/Base Titration
Laboratory Manual For Acid/Base Titration
Table of Contents
Table of Contents ............................................................................................................................iii
Introduction .....................................................................................................................................v
Chapter 1: Introduction to Acids, Bases, and the Purpose of Titration .......................................... 3
What are Acids and Bases? ......................................................................................................... 3
What is the Purpose of Acid/Base Titration?.............................................................................. 4
What is pH? ................................................................................................................................. 4
Chapter 2: Acid/ Base Titration Procedure ..................................................................................... 7
Equipment Needed ..................................................................................................................... 7
Procedure .................................................................................................................................... 8
Chapter 3: Determining the concentration of Sodium Hydroxide ............................................... 15
Glossary ......................................................................................................................................... 17
Index.............................................................................................................................................. 19
Introduction v
Introduction
One of the most common forms of chemical laboratory testing used in high school chemistry
courses is the acid base titration. This experimental scenario is used in a variety of testing.
Titrations are key in the world of medicine, marine life, and even water purification.
Unfortunately if these processes are carried out using rather high concentrations of either acids or
bases they can be extremely dangerous to perform.
Acid base titrations are used to determine an unknown molarity or concentration) of a given
substance. In this lab the chemical of unknown molarity will be Sodium Hydroxide or NaOH.
This manual provides a brief summary to help you better understand exactly what acids and
bases are as well as a detailed procedure on how to properly and safely carry out an acid base
titration. In this lab we will use the base sodium hydroxide to titrate the hydrochloric acid. The
end goal of this lab will be to properly calculate the molarity of the 3 of this manual.
This manual is arranged in a step-by-step procedure that makes it easy for even the most
inexperienced chemistry student to properly carry out this titration and to properly calculate the
unknown molarity.
This laboratory experiment uses chemicals that are quite dangerous if they come in contact with
your skin.. This laboratory manual places your safety above all else, for this reason several
precautions are placed throughout the lab to remind you of basic safety precautions that should
be followed.
Chapter 1: Introduction to Acids, Bases and the Purpose
of Titration
Chapter 1 3
NH3 + H+ NH4+
4 Laboratory Manual for Acid/Base Titration
From the reaction above, it is clear that the NH3 molecule donates an electron pair to the H+ in
order to form the ammonium molecule. In this case NH3+ is considered a base and H+ is
considered an acid under the Lewis Theory of acids and bases.
In this experiment we will be using the indicator Phenolphthalein. When the equivalence point is
reached there will be a color change from clear to pink. From this point we will be able calculate
the concentration of the unknown.
What is pH?
pH measure the concentration of hydrogen ions in a given solution. This reading tells us if a
solution is either acidic or basic. The pH scale ranges from 0-14, acid have a pH of below 7 while
bases have a pH above seven. A solution with a pH of seven is said to be neutral such as water.
Chapter 2: Acid/Base Titration Procedure
Chapter 2 7
Equipment Needed
Procedure
Be sure all proper safety equipment is worn when handling harmful chemicals
1.)Clamp the burette to its stand as below.
Be sure that you are wearing all proper lab equipment when handling chemicals!
4.) Fill the burette up to the 0.0 ml mark using a funnel with the unknown concentration of
sodium hydroxide.
5.) Place the Erlenmeyer flask of Hydrochloric acid under the tip of the burette.
10 Laboratory Manual for Acid/Base Titration
Note* You may want to add a white tile or piece of paper under the flask in order to more
easily see the color change.
6.) Add 3-4 drops of phenolphthalein to the solution of HCl in the Erlenmeyer flask.
7.) Begin to slowly allow the sodium hydroxide in the burette to fall into the HCl by opening the
burette valve.
Do not completely open the valve! For best results allow only 1-2 drops to enter the flask
at a time!
Chapter 2 11
8.)After a few drops gave entered the flask close the valve and swirl the solution around until
the pink color goes away.
9.) Repeat step 8 until the pink color does not go away after swirling. You have reached the
equivalence point!
Note* if your solution is dark pink the value calculated for NaOH concentration will be falsely
elevated
12 Laboratory Manual for Acid/Base Titration
10.) After the equivalence point is reached document the amount of Sodium Hydroxide that
was used by reading the amount on the burette.
11.) After all data has been recorded be sure to dispose of all waste and thoroughly clean up
your lab station.
Ask your instructor how and where they would like you to dispose of the acids and bases
13
1.) Set the number of moles at the equivalence point equal to one another.
VHCl: 10ml
Therefore,
This is the final equation to
(𝑀𝐻𝐶𝑙) (𝑉𝐻𝐶𝑙 )
MNaOH = determine the concentration of the
𝑉𝑁𝑎𝑂𝐻
sodium hydroxide
4.) Substitute the values from step one and solve for concentration of sodium hydroxide (For this
calculation 1.4 mL of NaOH will be used only to provide an example)
(.2𝑀)(10𝑚𝐿)
MNaOH = ≈ 1.42 M
1.4𝑚𝐿
Note* Be sure to use the experimental value you observed for VNaOH.
Glossary 17
Glossary
Acids
A solution with a pH below the neutral point (pH 7)
Arrhenius Theory
Defines acids as substances that increase the hydrogen ion concentration, and bases as substances
that increase hydroxide ion concentration.
Bases
A solution with a pH above the neutral point (pH 7)
Bronsted-Lowry Theory
Defines acids as proton donors, and bases as proton acceptors.
Equivalence Point
The point at which
Moles of acid = Moles of base
Indicator
A chemical that changes appearance in the presence of different pH levels
Lewis Theory
Defines acids as electron pair acceptors and bases as electron pair donors.
Molarity
Measures the concentration of a given substance, molarity can be written as
𝑚𝑜𝑙𝑒𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑢𝑏𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒
𝐿𝑖𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛
Titration
Adding on substance to another in hopes of finding the point at which moles of the two
substances are equal in order to determine an unknown concentration
Index 19
Index
A
L
Acids ...................................................... v, 3, 4, 14, 19
Lewis Theory ................................................... 3, 4, 19
Analyte ......................................................................4
Arrhenius Theory................................................. 3, 19 M
B Molarity ............................................................... v, 19
Bases .................................................. v, 3, 4, 5, 14, 19 P
Bronsted-Lowry Theory ...................................... 3, 19
pH .................................................................. iii, 5, 19
Burette ................................................... 10, 11, 12, 14
Phenolphthalein ..................................................... 4, 9
E
S
Equivalence point .................................... 4, 13, 14, 17
Sodium hydroxide................................ v, 3, 11, 12, 17
H
T
Hydrochloric Acid ........................................... 1, 9, 10
Titrate .................................................................... v, 4
I Titration ................................................................. v, 4
Indicator.....................................................................4
Index 21