TITRATION

OF HYDROCHLORIC ACID
WITH SODIUM HYDROXIDE

BY:

Arada Kongsawangchai 5861005

Chanyut Yuvacharaskul 5861017
Mnasnan Se-amorntham 5861059
Vitavas Kitiyanasap 5861175
1107
Cautions: Hydrochloric acid solution is a strong acid. Sodium hydroxide
solution is a strong base. Both are harmful to skin and eyes. Affected areas
should be washed thoroughly with copious amounts of water.

Purpose: The purpose of this lab is to determine the concentration of a

hydrochloric acid solution using acidbase titration.

Background: Titration is a technique that chemists use to determine the

unknown concentration of a known solution (we know what chemical is
dissolved, but not how much in a solution). Because we know what the
chemical is, we know how it will react with other chemicals and we can use
that reaction to determine the concentration of the solution by measuring
the formation of product(s). In the case of an unknown concentration of acid,
we can use a known concentration of hydroxide base. This type of reaction
is a neutralization reaction, where salt and water are products of the
reaction:

We can use a pH indicator, a chemical that changes color depending on the

pH, to show us when the reaction has completely neutralized. This point,
where all acid was consumed and there is no excess of base, is called the
equivalence point. We can use this equivalence point to determine the initial
concentration of acid using a series of calculations. The goal of the titration
is to get as close as possible to the equivalence point by careful addition of
the base; this will ensure the calculated acid concentration is as close to the
true value as possible. You will do three titrations and average the trials.

The terms below will help you understand the terminology used throughout
the experiment:

Titrantthe solution of known concentration is also called

the standardized solution. In this lab, the titrant is sodium hydroxide
solution.
Burettea long, cylindrical piece of glass that can be used
to determine small, accurate quantities of a solution. A burette is
controlled by a stopcock, a white Teflon piece that can be turned to
deliver the solution. The markings on the burette are such that you
must subtract the initial reading (where the titrant level is initially)
from the final reading to determine the volume of base delivered. The
burette measures 2 digits after the decimal point accurately.
Volumetric pipette/pipette bulba thin glass tube with only
 one marking used to measure a very specific volume of liquid. You will
use a pipette bulb to draw the liquid into the pipette.
Phenolphthaleina pH indicator. In acidic and neutral
solutions, the indicator is colorless, but in a basic solution, the color is
a vibrant pink. The higher the pH is, the stronger the pink color is. The
equivalence point will be when the color is a very faint pink color. Keep
your flask with acid and indicator over a white piece of paper to ensure
you can see the color change.
Materials:
50mL Burette with clamp
Phenolphthalein indicator
125 mL or 250mL Erlenmeyer flasks
Burette funnel
250mL beaker
25mL volumetric pipette
Pipette bulb
Also of importance in titrations are the calculations you need to determine
the unknown concentration of the acid. These calculations are outlined
below. You may want to refer to your notes from lecture for additional
examples.
Determination of moles of base delivered: After each titration, you will need
to determine the number of moles of sodium hydroxide used. First, you will
need to know the molarity of the solution (the solution has been previously
standardized, meaning it has a very accurate molarity that has been
experimentally determined). Write this down when you start the titration.
Next, you must determine the volume of the solution delivered to reach the
equivalence point. Next, you will find the moles of base used in the titration:

*Note that the volume of base is in L, not in mL

Determine number of moles of HCl in flask: If you write the balanced

reaction for the neutralization of sodium hydroxide and hydrochloric
acid, you will see that the reaction proceeds in a 1:1 fashion. That is, for
every hydroxide (OH) ion added, it can neutralize exactly one
hydronium (H+) ion. This is not always the case for neutralization
reactions, and is thus not always the case for acidbase titrations. The
general formula is below, where the determined moles of base from the
equation above are multiplied by the stoichiometric ratio found by
looking at the balanced equation:
Determination of acid concentration: Now that you know the number of
moles of acid in the flask (at the start of the titration, by the end, there is
only water and salt), you can determine its initial concentration. Because
you know the initial volume of acid used, you can use the following to
determine the concentration:

Procedure: You will do at least three titrations. If you add too much base
and the solution is too bright pink, you will need to discard the data and do
another run. Also, if your titrations are greater than 1% different from each
other, you will need to conduct additional titrations. (4 columns of data are
provided for these purposes.) Patience in this lab will prevent you from
having to do extra trials!!!
1. Record the molarity of the sodium hydroxide solution on
the data sheet
2. Obtain about 100 mL of the sodium hydroxide solution in a
clean beaker. This should be enough for the initial cleaning of your
burette and for your first 3 trials.
3. Clean your burette: Add about 5 mL of the base solution
from the beaker to the burette (use a funnel to pour). Move the funnel
around while adding to ensure the sides of the burette are coated with
base. Alternatively, you can remove the burette with the 5 mL of
titrant from the burette stand and carefully tilt and rotate to coat all
interior surfaces with the titrant. Drain the solution through the
stopcock into a waste beaker. Repeat this rinse with a second 5 mL
portion of base.
4. Pour more of the sodium hydroxide solution into the
burette until it is near the 0.00 mL mark. Open the stopcock to allow
several drops to rinse through the tip of the burette. This should
eliminate any air bubbles in the burette tip. Record your initial burette
reading on the data sheet for trial 1 (the volume does not need to be
exactly 0.00 mL).
5. Draw 10.00 mL of the acid solution into the volumetric
pipette and transfer this solution into an Erlenmeyer flask. Add 23
drops of phenolphthalein to the acid solution in the flask.
6. Place the flask under the burette and start adding the base
solution to the Erlenmeyer flask. Have one lab partner swirl the flask
while the other controls the stopcock. When pink starts to develop,
add the solution more slowly. At this point you should add one drop at
a time followed by swirling until a very light pink color persists for at
least 30 seconds. Remember, the lighter the pink the better!!!
7. Record the final reading of the burette. Wash the contents
of the flask down the drain with water.
8. Refill the burette with more sodium hydroxide solution if
necessary. Record the new volume under trial 2 on the data sheet.
Pipette another sample of acid and add the phenolphthalein as before
and titrate as before.
9. Conduct additional titrations until four of them differ by no
more than 1.0%.
10. Complete the data sheet and postlab questions.
 DATA SHEET

Concentration of sodium hydroxide: 0.1o M

Balanced Chemical Equation of the titration reaction:

Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Trial 4

Initial burette volume 0 12.00 0 11.5

(mL)

Final burette volume 12 23.8 11.5 22.9

(mL)

Volume of base (mL) 12 11.8 11.5 11.4

Volume of base (L) 0.012 0.0118 0.0115 0.0114

Moles of base (mol) 0.0012 0.00118 0.00115 0.00114

Acid to Base Mole 1 1 1 1

Ratio

Moles of acid (mol) 0.0012 0.00118 0.00115 0.00114

Volume of acid (L) 0.010 0.010 0.010 0.010

Acid concentration (M) 0.12 0.118 0.115 0.114

Average concentration 0.11675

(M)
POSTLAB

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?
Answer: The concentration might not be accurate because the solution
is concentrated with residual water.

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?
Answer: The acid may be diluted and may affect the result.

3. How do you tell if you have exceeded the equivalence

point in your titration?
Answer: The solution changed color, from clear to pink.

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?
Answer: We have 0.00908 L of base x 2.293 M of base = 0.02082044
mol of base, which is the same number as mole of acid since the ratio
of both reactants are 1:1. This means that 0.02082044 mol of acid
0.025 L of acid = 0.83 M of acid. Therefore, the molarity of the vinegar
is 0.83 M.
 PRELAB QUESTIONS

1. How will you know when your titration is finished?

Answer: When the phenolphthalein in the solution turns the solution
pink.

2. Label the pH scale below with acid, base, and neutral,

indicating numbers for each.

Answer:
Acid Neutral Base
I------I------I------I------I------I------I------I------I------I------I------I------I------I
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
11 12 13 14
3. On the scale above, use an arrow to show where your
equivalence point is located.

Answer: The equivalence point is around pH 7. (Green Area)

4. Write the neutralization reaction that occurs between hydro

bromic acid (HBr) and lithium hydroxide (LiOH).

Answer: HBr + LiOH LiBr + H2O

5. What is the concentration of 10.00 mL of HBr if it takes

16.73 mL of a 0.253 M LiOH solution to neutralize it?

Answer: Since the ratio between each reactant is in 1:1, so mole of

base must be equal to mole of acid, so 0.253 x 0.01673 = 0.00423
mole of base and 0.00423 mol of acid 0.010 L of acid = 0.42 M of
acid.
Calculation

From Trial 3:
1. Get initial burette volume = 0.00mL 0.00L
2. Get final burette volume = 11.5mL 0.0115L
3. Total amount of NaOH used = Final burette reading - Initial
burette reading
= 0.0115 L- 0.00L
= 0.0115 L
4. Moles of base = Molarity x L
= 0.1M x 0.0115L
= 1.15 x 10-3 mol
5. Moles of acid = Moles of base
-3
= 1.15 x 10 mol
6. Volume of acid = 0.010L
7. Acid Concentration = Moles Volume
= 1.15 x 10-3 mol 0.010L
= 0.115M

Conclusion

12 mL of sodium hydroxide (NaOH) with 0.1 M concentration can neutralize

10 mL of hydrochloric acid (HCl) with 0.116 M concentration. We used
phenolphthalein as the indicator, and so when the solution changed into pink, it
means that the solution reached the end point. Therefore, the solution is neutral.