Abstract

Acidity of water in nature is a modern problem that we have been facing in terms of
water purity, whether it is about the lack of potability of acidic water or the corrosion that
occurs in the industrial plant equipment when acidic water flows inside it. This
experiment tested how resistant the tap water in Jordan is to high pH.
Both total and mineral acidities were tested on three samples, the acidity levels varied
between them. The first sample contained pure tap water, while the second sample of tap
water contained a drop of sulfuric acid and the third sample contained three drops of
sulfuric acid.
Introduction
The measure of the concentration of hydrogen ions [H+] present in a solution is called
acidity of water. Acidity can be due to minerals or dissolved gases, minerals such as
carbonic acid (H2CO3) can often be found in groundwater sources while dissolved gases
contributing to acidity are absorbed from the air, most dissolved gases show in the form
of oxygen (O2) and carbon dioxide (CO2), they are also called acidic gases.

Acidity can be classified into:

1. Total acidity (T), when pH of water is higher than 4.6, determined by
phenolphthalein as an indicator. It does not affect neither the potability nor does it
corrode the equipment.
2. Mineral acidity (M), when pH of water is less than 4.6, determined by Methyl
Orange as an indicator. The presence of mineral acidity in water is a bad sign and
it is not potable nor safe for aquatic life.
The acidity is calculated by the following equations:
VNaOH * NNaOH * 103
M= ________________________

Vsample where;
N ≡ Normality
V ≡ Volume
VNaOH * NNaOH * 103
T= __________________
Vsample
Materials
Equipment:
 Burette
 Burette Stand
 Measuring Cylinder
 Conical Flask
 Funnel
Chemicals:
 Tap Water
 Phenolphthalein
 Methyl Orange
 Sodium Hydroxide (NaOH) (0.1 N)
 Sulfuric Acid (H2SO4)

Procedure
First, to test the mineral acidity; the burette was rinsed with NaOH, to be fixed on the
burette stand then filled with NaOH using a funnel to prevent spillage. Now, to prepare
the first sample, the conical flask was rinsed with tap water then filled with 100mL of tap
water and 3 drops of Methyl Orange were added to the conical flask. Noticing the color
turning orange without adding any NaOH. For the second trial, the sample consisted of
100mL of tap water, 1 drop of H2SO4 and 3 drops of Methyl Orange, while the color of
the sample was red before it was titrated with NaOH until it turned orange. Same steps
were followed for the third trial, except the sample had 3 drops of H2SO4 instead of 1
drop.
The other half of this experiment was to test the total acidity; same procedure was done
and same samples were used but only the indicator was changed, for this part,
phenolphthalein was used as an indicator. In the first trial, when the phenolphthalein was
added to the sample, which consisted of 100mL of tap water, the color of the sample
remained colorless and changed to pink. The colors of the last two samples remained
colorless also after adding the indicator and changed after the titration.
Results
Mineral Acidity
Trial No. Vol of Sample (mL) Burette reading VNaOH
(mL)

Initial Final
1 100: tap water 12.3 12.3 0
2 100: tap water + 12.3 16.4 4.1
1 drop of H2SO4
3 100: tap water + 16.4 38.0 21.6
3 drops of H2SO4

Total Acidity
Trial No. Vol of Sample (mL) Burette reading VNaOH
(mL)

Initial Final
1 100: tap water 6.2 7.8 1.6
2 100: tap water + 7.8 14.1 6.3
1 drop of H2SO4
3 100: tap water + 14.1 37.5 23.4
3 drops of H2SO4

Calculations
For 100mL of tap water:
1. Mineral acidity
0∗0.1∗1000
M= 100 =0

2. Total acidity
1.6∗0.1∗1000
T=
100
= 1.6 mvol/L
Conclusion
Jordan’s tap water does not include any mineral acidity and two things prove that; First,
the fact that when Methyl Orange was added to it, it turned orange without titrating it
while the other samples turned red and only turned orange after the titration. Second, the
calculations show that the mineral acidity for the tap water sample equals zero. This
means the tap water in Jordan is safe to drink, safe for aquatic life and non-corrosive.
However, titration is not a very accurate way to measure the acidity.

References
(2002). Handbook of Water and Waste Water Treatment Technologies. Nicholas P.
Cheremisinoff.
(2013). Acidity and Alkalinity [Laboratory Experiment].