Burette Set-up

The next step is to prepare the burette in order for the researchers to test the water samples from sites
B and C. The materials utilized for this process were the burette, distilled water, a flask, a funnel and
water samples from site B. In order to set-up the burette, the researchers poured distilled water inside
of the burette to rinse it while making sure that the top of the burette is below their eye level. The
researchers also placed a flask at the bottom of the burette to catch the water spilling out while it was
opened. Next, the researchers then rinsed the burette again by pouring water samples from site B inside
it via the use of a funnel. Afterwards, the researchers closed the tap of the burette and proceeded to fill
it with the water samples using the funnel and after the burette was filled, the researchers removed the
funnel to ensure that the fill level remained constant. Lastly, to prepare for the titration experiment, the
researchers positioned their vision in line with the level of solution inside the burette in order for them
to read it accurately.

Titration Experiment

The last process is to conduct the titration experiment on the samples collected from sites B and C to
determine the hydrogen chloride (HCl) content of the river. The items employed in this step were the
burette, samples from sites B and C and the phenolphthalein indicator. The researchers started the
titration experiment on the substance gathered from site B by conducting a trial titration to get an idea
of roughly how much solution to add. The researchers recorded the initial volume of the sample inside
the burette and then proceeded to run the solution into the flask containing the phenolphthalein
indicator. After the color of the liquid in the flask became completely colorless, the researchers stopped
the flow of solution coming from the burette by closing it. The researchers then recorded the final
volume reading of the substance in the burette. Next, the researchers identified the volume added to
the phenolphthalein indicator by subtracting the initial volume to the final volume. Following this, the
researchers proceeded with the titration experiment on site B with a predetermined initial volume. They
would determine the final volume reading by repeating what they did in their trial, which is to run the
solution into the phenolphthalein indicator until it becomes colorless. Next, they would also get the
amount of HCl added to the indicator by subtracting the initial volume to the final one. The researchers
would repeat this process a second time on site B with a new predetermined initial volume and in doing
so they would identify a second amount of HCl added. Afterwards, the researchers calculated the
average amount of volume of solution added for site B by adding the two values and dividing it by two.
Subsequently, they then directed their attention to site C. Just like site B, the researchers conducted first
a trial experiment before the real one by identifying the water sample’s initial volume, final volume and
the amount of volume added to the indicator. Upon achieving this, the researchers went ahead with the
experiment by repeating the steps they undertook in site B. Like site B, the researchers also conducted
two titration experiments with predetermined initial volumes yielding them another two calculations of
the amount of HCl added to the phenolphthalein. They then computed for the average of the two
measurements of HCl added for site C. Finally, the researchers calculated the concentration of hydrogen
chloride on both sites B and C by dividing the average volume of HCl determined on both sites on the
product of the amount of hydrogen chloride and 1,000.