Titration to Standardise a Hydrochloric Acid Solution

In this activity, a hydrochloric acid solution of unknown concentration is

standardised against a solution of sodium carbonate of known concentration.
This is done using the titration method. The sodium carbonate solution here is
being used as a ‘standard solution’. A ‘standard solution’ is one whose
concentration is known accurately and is stable.

The equation for the reaction is:

Na2CO3(aq) + 2HCl(aq) → 2NaCl(aq) + CO2(g) + H2O(l)

Method:
1. Rinse the burette with a little of the acid.
2. Fill the burette with the acid using the small funnel. Be sure to remove the
funnel after filling.
3. Remove air bubbles from the jet of the burette by opening the tap to allow a
little of the acid into a waste container.
4. Record the initial burette reading. Draw up a results table for the titration
results.
5. Rinse the pipette with a small amount of the sodium carbonate standard
solution.
6. Using the pipette filler, pipette 25.0 cm3 of the carbonate solution into a
conical flask.
7. Add five drops of the methyl orange indicator to the solution in the flask.
Note the colour of the solution.
8. Set up the apparatus, making sure that the tip of the burette is just inside
the neck of the conical flask. Run in the acid from the burette. This should be
done in increasingly smaller amounts.
9. Swirl – do not splash – the contents of the conical flask regularly during the
addition of the acid.
10. Continue adding the acid until the colour of the solution suddenly changes
from yellow to pink, ideally on the addition of just one drop.
11. Record the final burette reading and the volume of the acid used.
12. Repeat with fresh 25.0 cm3 portions of the carbonate solution until you
obtain two values which agree within 0.10 cm3.
13. Record your data directly into your table as you progress through the
experiment.
14. Use at least two consistent values to find the average (mean). Do not use
the rough initial titration value.
15. Calculate accurately the concentration in mol/dm3 of the acid.