LLT Report Template

Quantitative Determination of the Citric

Acid Content in Juices
Name: Giavanna Lorubbio

Date Submitted: 3/1/2020

Lab TA Name: Amy He

Purpose: By performing several titrations, the concentration of citric acid in lime and
lemon juice samples were determined.

Procedure Citation: Please refer to: “Quantitative Analysis of the Citric Acid Content in
Juices.” Chemistry 1210: General Chemistry Laboratory Notebook, Hayden-McNeil,
Plymouth, 2017, pp. 31-35 for the proper procedure.

Copyright © 2019 by the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry at The Ohio State University 1
Presentation of Data

Part A. Standardize the NaOH solution.

Trial 1 Trial 2

Mass of KHP in flask, g 1.4010 g 1.3932 g

0.0068599 0.006821
Moles of KHP, mol mol 7 mol
16.30
Volume of NaOH added, mL 16.00 mL mL
0.4185
Molarity of NaOH solution, M 0.4287 M M

Your average molarity of NaOH solution, M 0.4236 M

Class average molarity of NaOH, M 0.4246 M

Class standard deviation molarity NaOH, M 0.1624 M

Part B. Determine the concentration of citric acid in lemon juice.

Trial 1 Trial 2

Volume of lemon juice sample, mL 10.0 mL 10.0 mL

17.40
Volume of NaOH used, mL 17.30 mL mL
0.007328 0.00737
Moles of NaOH used mol 1 mol
0.002443 0.00245
Moles of citric acid in lemon juice mol 7 mol
0.1412
Concentration of citric acid in juice, M 0.1412 M M

Your average concentration of citric acid, M 0.1412 M

Class average concentration of citric acid, M 0.3989 M

Class standard deviation of citric acid conc., M 0.1250 M

Copyright © 2019 by the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry at The Ohio State University 2
 Part C. Determine the concentration of citric acid in lime juice.
Trial 1 Trial 2
10.00
Volume of lime juice sample, mL 10.00 mL mL
17.10
Volume of NaOH used, mL 17.10 mL mL
0.007244 0.00724
Moles of NaOH used mol 4 mol
0.002415 0.00241
Moles citric acid in lime juice mol 5 mol
0.0000412 0.00004
Concentration of citric acid in juice, M 9M 129 M
0.000041
Your average concentration of citric acid. M 29 M

Class average concentration of citric acid. M 0.4054 M

Class standard deviation of citric acid conc. M 0.2953 M

Copyright © 2019 by the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry at The Ohio State University 3
 Sample Calculations
Using data you personally collected (Trial 1), show sample calculations for the moles of KHP
used and the molarity of standardized NaOH:

Show a sample calculation for the concentration of citric acid in lemon juice in the sample you
used for your first titration (Trial 1). As we collected the class average to minimize error, use this
value for standardized NaOH concentration:

Copyright © 2019 by the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry at The Ohio State University 4
 Discussion:

A clean, dry 25-mL burette was obtained, rinsed with NaOH, then filled with more
NaOH until the volume was between 0.00 and 1.00 mL. Then, using a clean, dry weigh
boat, approximately 1.4 g of KHP was measured out then placed in a clean, dry 125-
mL Erlenmeyer flask. Once transferred, 75 mL of DI was added to the flask as well as
six drops of phenolphthalein indicator. Then, the KHP solution was titrated until a faint
pink color persisted for 30 seconds. This process was repeated once more for a total of
two trials. After the two trials had been completed, the burette was filled once again
with the NaOH and 10.00 mL of lemon juice was pipetted into a clean, dry 125-mL
Erlenmeyer flask. 65 mL of DI was added to the flask as well as six drops of the
indicator. The lemon juice solution was then titrated until an orange color persisted for
30 seconds. This process with the lemon juice was repeated once more for a total of
two trials. After the two trials had finished, the process with the lemon juice was
repeated once more, but instead of using lemon juice, lime juice was used. All of the
initial and final volumes were recorded to find the concentration of the solutions. The
standard deviation was also calculated for each part as well as some averages.

The class average molarity of NaOH was 0.4246 M. The class standard deviation of the
molarity of NaOH was 0.1624 M. The class average concentration of citric acid in
lemon juice was 0.3989 M. The class standard deviation of the citric acid in lemon
juice concentration was 0.1250 M. The class average concentration of citric acid in
lime juice was 0.4054 M. The class standard deviation of the citric acid in lime juice
concentration was 0.2953 M. No data points were discarded. After titrating the NaOH
into the KHP solution, 16.00 mL of NaOH was added and the solution was a dark pink
color, indicating that too much NaOH had been added to the solution. After conducting
a second trial, the same thing happened. With the lemon juice, the first titration trial
was successful. 17.30 mL of NaOH was added to the solution and the solution was a
faint orange color. However, with the second trial, 17.40 mL of NaOH was
accidentally added and the solution was a much darker orange color. The second trial
with the lemon juice showed just how sensitive titrations can be. The sensitivity differs
along with the amount of water added to the solution, because the water was diluting
the acid. So, to neutralize the acid, if more water was added, more of the base would
have to be added. If 40 mL of water was added instead of 75 mL to dissolve the KHP, a
lesser amount of the base would have to be added. However, this wouldn’t affect the
overall outcome of the data. The molarity wouldn’t change because the solution was
just considered to be less diluted.

The equivalence point of a titration is when the solution is stoichiometrically

equivalent. The end point of a titration is when the reaction is finished. An easy way to
guess the end point of a titration is by using an acid/base indicator. An acid/base
indicator works by changing the color of the solution. The solution’s pH levels change,
and the indicator measures that. So, in the lab, after each drop of NaOH was added to
the lemon juice, the solution turned pink. But once the flask was gently swirled for a
few moments, the color went away. What’s happening during this process is simply the

Copyright © 2019 by the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry at The Ohio State University 5
 mixture of the acid and the base. If too much of the base was added to the acid, the
solution would stay a bright pink instead of going away. If the indicator was not added,
there would be no color change and it would be very difficult to tell if there was too
much of the base added to the solution.

There were many potential errors in this lab. For example, color is very subjective
because everyone sees color differently. One person may think that a solution isn’t the
faint pink color that was aimed for, while another person may think differently. This
affects the end point because not everyone will agree on the specific shade aimed for,
so it’s very difficult to find the end point. This is a systematic error because the error
will still persist after repeating the lab over and over again. Since the end point is
typically very close to the equivalence point, the same systematic error will occur due
to the subjectivity of color. Another potential systematic error was that the lemon juice
and lime juice might have contained other components besides the citric acid. This
could’ve impacted the results because the acid wouldn’t have been pure. So, the data
calculated for the moles of citric acid wouldn’t have been accurate.

Copyright © 2019 by the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry at The Ohio State University 6
 Conclusion:
By performing several titrations, the concentration of a base and a known acid were
determined. With part B in the lab, 17.30 mL of NaOH was used and the solution was a
faint orange color. However, with the second trial, 17.40 mL of NaOH was used and
the solution was still orange, but the color wasn’t faint. It was determined that titrations
are very sensitive and one drop more than needed of a base may affect the overall
outcome of the solution greatly.

Additional Works Cited:

Include a proper citation to any additional works consulted in the preparation of your lab report. Leave
this section blank if no additional resources were used.

“Treatment of Numerical Data” Chemistry 1210: General Chemistry Laboratory Manual, Moga,
Weaver, Moore, 2020, pp. Appendix D-4 - D-5.

“Quantitative Analysis of the Citric Acid Content in Juices” Chemistry 1210: General Chemistry
Laboratory Manual, Moga, Weaver, Moore, 2020, pp. 51-55.

Copyright © 2019 by the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry at The Ohio State University 7