EXPERIMENT 3

pH: MEASUREMENT AND ITS APPLICATION

NADIA NURUL NAJIHA BINTI TOKIJAN

FAC 190720
FB1
EN CHE MOHD FARHAN BIN CHE MAT DUSUKI
PN MAHFUZAH YUSOF
18 FEBRUARY 2020
TITLE: pH: Measurement and Its Application
OBJECTIVE:

INTRODUCTION:
The concentration of hydrogen ion in solution is not stated in moles or molarity but is
expressed on the pH scale. pH is defined as the negative logarithm of hydrogen ion
concentration, [H+].

The pH scale ranges from 1 to 14. A neutral solution has a pH of 7. An acidic solution has a
pH value less than 7 while a basic solution has a pH value greater than 7.

There are two methods of measuring pH in the laboratory. The first method involves an
indicator that changes colour. Examples of indicators are phenolphthalein, pH paper, litmus
paper and universal indicator. The second method is by using pH meter.

Acids or bases, which ionises completely are called strong acids or strong bases. An example
of a strong acid is hydrochloric acid, HCL (aq) and a strong base is sodium hydroxide, NaOH
(aq). Weak acids and weak bases do not ionize completely. An example of a weak acid is
acetic acid, CH3COOH (aq) and that of a weak base is ammonia, NH 3 (aq).

Determination of Ionisation Constant of Weak Acid and Base

Consider the ionization of weak acid, HA.

The equilibrium expression for the above reaction is written as:

Where [H+], [A-] and [HA] are species concentration at equilibrium and Ka is the ionisation
constant for acid HA (‘a’ refers to acid). The same equation can be written for weak bases.
The ionisation constant for weak bases is written as Kb.
One method to determine Ka, is by measuring the pH of an acid with a known concentration.
[H+] at equilibrium can be calculated by substituting the pH value in equation (1). In
equation (2) since the stoichiometric coefficient for both H + and A- is the same, therefore
[A-]=[H+]. For acids that undergo very little ionization, the value for [HA] in equation (3) is the
same as the initial molarity of the acid [HA] but [H+]=[A-] – x, where x is the percentage of
ionisation.

Example:

An easier method to determine Ka, is by adding a weak acid solution to its conjugated base
solution (supplied by salt). The product of this process is an acidic buffer solution. The salt is
obtained by using nitration method.

In this method, a known acid [HA] is divided into two equal parts, X and Y. the first part, X is
titrated with NaOH (aq), a strong base using phenolphthalein as indicator to detect the
formation of a salt solution. A change of colour from colourless to pink indicates the
endpoint. The equation for the reaction is as follows:

In this reaction, all the HA in the conical flask reacts with NaOH to form NaA and H 2O. NaA
ionises completely to form A- and Na+. the number of moles of A- formed is the same as the
number of moles of HA in the second part, Y (which has not been titrated).

The second part of the weak acid, HA is added to the contents in the conical flask (which
contains the salt NaA). In this mixture, the concentration of HA will be equal to the
concentration of A- (from the salt).

The value of [H+] can be obtained by measuring the pH and from this, the value of Ka can be
calculated.
METHOD
3 (A) Determination of the pH of Acidic and Basic Solutions
1. The pH of 0.1M and 1.0M HCl were determined using
a) pH paper. Refer to the pH colour chart of the paper.

2. a) The two test tubes were filled with 2 cm3 HCl 0.1M and 1.0M respectively.
b) 2 drops of methyl violet were added in both test tubes and the colour
changes were noted.

3. a) The pH of 0.1M and 1.0M CH3COOH were determined using pH paper and pH
meter.
b) By using methyl violet and methyl orange, the colour of the indicators in both
solutions of 3 (a) were determined.

4. a) The pH of 0.1M and 1.0M NaOH were determined using pH paper.

b) The colour of alizarin yellow in 0.1M and 1.0M NaOH were determined.
c) The colour of alizarin yellow in 0.1M and 1.0M NH3 were determined.

5. The observations were recorded as shown in Table 3.1.

3 (B) Determination of the pH of salt solutions

1. The pH of the following salt solutions were determined by using pH paper:
 0.1M sodium chloride, NaCl
 0.1M sodium acetate, CH3COONa
 0.1M ammonium nitrate, NH4NO3.

2. The observations were recorded and the salt solutions were determined whether are
acidic, basic or neutral as shown in Table 3.2.

3 (C) Determination of Ionisation Constant of Weak Acid, Ka

1. 25 cm3 of 0.1M CH3COOH were pipetted into the conical flask labelled X and Y.

2. Two to three drops of phenolphthalein were added into the conical flask labelled X
and were titrated with 0.2M NaOH. (Slowly titrated when the volume of base
reaches 10 cm3). The endpoint is reached when the solution becomes pink.

3. The solution in step (2) were mixed with 25 cm3 of 0.1M CH3COOH in the second
conical flask (Y). the pH of this mixture were determined using pH paper and pH
meter. All your observations were recorded as shown in Table 3.3.
RESULTS
Table 3.1: Determination of the pH of Acidic and Basic solutions
Solution HCl CH3COOH NaOH NH3
Molarity 0.1M 1.0M 0.1M 1.0M 0.1M 1.0M 0.1M 1.0M
pH pH 2 0 3 2 11 12
paper

pH 2.76 2.21
meter

Methyl Violet Violet No No

Indicator violet to to change change
blue green
Methyl Orange Orang
orange to red e to
red

Alizarin Yello Yellow Yellow Yellow

yellow w to to red to to
red orang orange
e

Table 3.2: Determination of the pH of Salt Solutions

Solution pH value Discussion with equation
NaCl 7 Neutral Solution:

CH3COONa 8 Basic Solution

NH4NO3 6 Acidic Solution

Table 3.3: (a) Titration readings; (b) pH measurements

(a)
Readings (cm3) Initial Final Volume used
Solution
NaOH solution 26.30 40.60 14.30

(b)
pH measurement
 pH paper pH meter
4 4.57

DISCUSSIONS

1. Calculate the percentage of ionization of acetic acid at various concentrations (0.1M

and 1.0M). how does the percentage of ionization change with its concentration?

2. From the pH values obtained from both concentrations of acetic acid, calculate Ka for
acetic acid. Compare these values with those obtained from Part C.

CONCLUSION

REFFERENCES