Title: The Use of Volumetric Flask, Burette and Pipette in Determining the Concentration of NaOH Solution.

Objectives: To carry out acid-base titration. To determine the end point with the use of indicators such as phenolphthalein To determine the concentration of the base used. Introduction: To make an experiment a success, an accurate and consistent data is required. Data are usually obtained through measurements. So to obtain an accurate and consistent data, the basic skills of handling lab apparatus are needed. For example in this titration experiment, the fundamental knowledge and handling skills for volumetric flask, burette and pipette are required. The main objective in this particular experiment is to find out the unknown concentration of a reactant (Base) involved. To determine this concentration titration technique is used. The technique is carried out by using a solution (Acid) which concentration and volume are known to react with the reagent of unknown concentration (Base). By determining the volume of solution used to reach the end point, its concentration can be determined. Apparatus and Materials: NaOH solution Beaker (500 cm3) HCl solution (1.000 x 10-2M) Burette (50 cm3) Phenolphthalein solution

Pipette (20 cm3 or 25 cm3)

Volumetric flask (250 cm3) Erlenmeyer flask (250 cm3) Funnel Watch Glass Procedure: 1. The volumetric flask was cleaned and rinsed with distilled water. 2. NaOH solution was transferred into the volumetric flask. 3. NaOH solution was top up to 250cm3 with distilled water, the cap was close and the flask was rotated a few times to get a homogenous solution. 4. The solution was poured into a clean and dry beaker. 5. The burette was cleaned with distilled water and rinsed with 5cm3 NaOH solution a few times. The burette was filled with NaOH solution using a funnel.

6. 25cm3 of acid solution was pipetted into three clean Erlenmeyer flasks. 7. Two drops of phenolphthalein was added to the acid solution. 8. The initial burette reading was recorded and the acid solution was titrated with NaOH solution in the burette until end-point is reached. The end reading to obtain the volume of NaOH used was recorded. Results: Results & Calculations: Burette readings (mL) Initial reading Final reading Volume of NaOH solution used (mL) 25.10 (Final reading Initial reading) 24.95 25.15 Titration 1 0.00 25.10 Titration 2 0.00 24.95 Titration 3 0.00 25.15

Average volumes used

= (Titration 1 + Titration 2 + Titration 3) / 3 = (25.10ml + 24.95ml + 25.15ml) / 3 = 25.067ml

Volume of NaOH used (mL) (25.10 25.067)/25.067 X 1000 = 1.31 < 3 Titration1 25.10

(24.95 25.067)/25.067 X 1000 = 4.67 > 3 Titration 2 24.95

(25.15 25.067)/25.067 X 1000 = 3.31 > 3 Titration 3 25.15

Discussion: Titration is the quantitative measurement of an unknown solution by reacting it with a standardized reagent. In this experiment we are applying the acid-base titration technique. It basically titration but involves acids and bases to reach with each other until one of the reactants is consumed completely. Through this method a solution of base of known concentration can therefore be used to titrate an acid solution of unknown concentration and vice versa. During an acid-base titration and indicator was used to know whether the end point is reached. An indicator is a weak organic acid or base that has distinctly different colors in its nonionized and ionized forms. The indicator changes colour when the end point is reached. The end point is also known as the equivalence point. At the equivalence point, acid and base are said to be mixed in exactly proportions to neutralize each other causing colour changes. (Clark, 2006) The titration in this experiment can be illustrated with a graph called a titration curve. It is a graph of pH versus volume of the solution titrated. The figure below represents the pH versus volume data of the titration curve for the HCl-NaOH titration.

Based on the graph, at the beginning the pH value is low, this indicate the presence of an acid, which is the HCl in the flasks. As the titration initiated, the pH value started to change. From the graph, as the titration proceeds, the pH value increases slowly until it reaches just before the equivalence point. The pH doesn't change very much until you get close to the equivalence point, but by adding a few drops of base will result the pH value to surge upwards very steeply. This is because when approaching the equivalence point, the number of moles of H+ ions and H3O+ ions are started to become equal too, thus a slight addition of base will disrupt the equilibrium and result in a steep increase of pH. (Clark, 2002) In this experiment, phenolphthalein is used as the acid-base indicator. From the graph, any acid-base indicator whose color changes in the pH range from about 4.0 to 10.0 is suitable to be used; phenolphthalein has a pH range of 8.3 to 10.0. Indicators do not change their colour exactly at a certain pH; they change over a small range of pH instead. Phenolphthalein is a weak acid. Adding extra hydrogen ions shifts the position of equilibrium to the left, and turns the indicator colourless. Adding hydroxide ions removes the hydrogen ions from the equilibrium which tips to the right to replace them - turning the indicator pink. (Clark, 2006) Based on the results obtained, within the three titration carried out only titration 1 is less than 3, which is within the range. The other 2 titrations are out of range. There are several causes that results in this error. First of all, the NaOH solution could have been diluted as the burette used to fill the NaOH solution is rinse with distilled water and not with NaOH before use. This causes the concentration of NaOH to be lower. This might also happened to the flasks

that contain HCl causing the concentration of HCl to be lower than expected. Besides that, there might be error when reading the burette because during the recording of readings the meniscus shown on the burette is not clearly viewed. Furthermore, addition of NaOH might be used because the initial colour change might be too minor to be realized; placing a piece of white paper under the flasks can solve this error. Questions and Answers: 1. Calculate the concentration of NaOH solution. NaOH (aq) + HCl (aq) Volume of NaOH used NaCl (aq) + H2O (l) = 25.067ml / 10000 = 0.025067dm3

Volume of HCl used

= 25ml / 1000 = 0.025 dm3

Concentration of HCl

= 0.01M

No. of moles HCl, n

= Molarity x Volume = 0.01 x 0.025 = 0.00025 moles

Based on equation, 1 mole of HCl reacts with 1 mole of NaOH. Hence, 0.00025 mole of HCl reacts with 0.00025 mole NaOH. Molarity = no. of moles (n) / Volume (dm3) = 0.00025 moles / 0.025067dm3 = 9.97 x 10-3 M = 0.00997 M (concentration of diluted NaOH)

Dilution, M1V1 = M2V2 M1 (5) M1 = (0.00997) (250) = 0.4985 M (Initial concentration of NaOH)

2.

Distinguish between acid strength and acid concentration. Acid strength is the tendency of an acid to react with water to produce ions or losing protons. The stronger the acid, the easier it loses an H+ proton. Acid concentration refers to the proportion of an acid in a particular mixture. A more concentrated acid has a higher proportion of acid in the mixture. (Clark, 2002)

3.

Distinguish between a weak base and an insoluble base. A weak base is a base that does not contain hydroxide ions but react with water to produce them. The reactions are reversible. They do react, but partially. In contrast, insoluble base does not react at all. (Clark, 2002)

Conclusion: The initial concentration of NaOH is 0.4985 M.

References:

Clark, J., 2002. pH (TITRATION) CURVES. [Online] Available at: http://www.chemguide.co.uk/physical/acidbaseeqia/phcurves.html [Accessed 22 June 2013]. Clark, J., 2002. STRONG AND WEAK ACIDS. [Online] Available at: http://www.chemguide.co.uk/physical/acidbaseeqia/acids.html [Accessed 22 June 2013]. Clark, J., 2002. STRONG AND WEAK BASES. [Online] Available at: http://www.chemguide.co.uk/physical/acidbaseeqia/bases.html [Accessed 22 June 2013]. Clark, J., 2006. ACID-BASE INDICATORS. [Online] Available at: http://www.chemguide.co.uk/physical/acidbaseeqia/indicators.html [Accessed 21 June 2013].