PRE-LAB QUESTIONS

1. What should you always wear to protect your eyes when you are in a laboratory?

You should wear safety goggles/glasses.

2. Should you add acid to water or water to acid?

You should add acid to water.

3. Where should you dispose of broken glass?

In the garbage.

4. What should you do if you spill a chemical on your hand?

You should wash your hands with soap and water.

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EXERCISE 1: NEUTRALIZATION

Data Sheet

Table 2: Initial pH Test Results

Container Chemical Contents Initial pH Additional Observations

A 5mL water pH 7 Neutral

10mL of 1 molar
B pH 1 I think it is a colorless liquid
hydrochloric acid
0.5g of sodium
NaHCO3 is a fine white powder. It
C bicarbonate, 100mL pH 9
dissolves in water
water

Table 3: Neutralization of Acid

Total Amount of Beaker C pH after

NaHCO3 Added adding acid

0.5 (initial solution) 4

1.0 5

1.5 7

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Exercise 1 Post-Lab Questions

1. Most of the chemicals included in your kit can be discarded down a drain with
copious amounts of water. Describe a situation in which you would need to
neutralize a chemical before discarding it down the drain.

For example, if you use an acid or a base, you must neutralize them to put them in the
drain.

2. Why should you add acid to water rather than add water to acid when preparing
solutions?

When you add water to acid, you get a very concentrated acid solution, which might heat
up quickly. When you add acid to water, the solution is very dilute, and the little amount
of heat created is insufficient to evaporate and splash it.

3. At what point was the solution in beaker C neutralized?

The solution in Beaker C was neutralized after adding 1.5 NaHCO3.

4. Address the following scenarios:

a. If a more concentrated initial solution of sodium bicarbonate was used in

beaker C, would it require more or less bicarbonate to neutralize the acid?
Why?

The lab would have required fewer attempts to neutralize beaker C if we had
used a higher concentration of sodium bicarbonate. Therefore, it would have
required less sodium bicarbonate.

b. If a less concentrated initial solution of sodium bicarbonate was used in

beaker C, would that solution require more or less bicarbonate to neutralize
the acid? Why?

It would require more sodium bicarbonate because it is less concentrated.

©2019, eScience Labs

©2019, eScience Labs