QUANTITATIVE DETERMINATION OF ACETYLSALICYLIC ACID IN

ASPIRIN TABLETS BY BACK-TITRATION

K. SALVADOR
1Instituteof Chemistry, College of Science
University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City 1101, Philippines
Date Submitted:26 October 2023
Date Performed: 19 October 2023

ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS

1. Discuss the use of a more dilute NaOH solution for the standardization of NaOH
The titration is more precise and accurate, as the endpoint is more gradual and easier to
detect. There is also less risk of overshooting the endpoint, which can lead to inaccurate results.

2. Explain the rationale behind the dilution and aliquoting of the aspirin sample.
The aliquot will serve as the representative of the aspirin sample but in a smaller amount
which also reduces the risk for contamination. Dilution is also done to decrease the concentration of
the aspirin sample which also lessens the required NaOH to reach the end point.

3. Discuss the principles behind the use of back titration in the analysis of aspirin tablet.
Aspirin is a weak acid that undergoes slow hydrolysis which makes it unfavorable for just
direct titration. This is why a known excess amount of NaOH is added to be able to overcome it, then
the HCl titration is done to determine the amount of unreacted base to find out how the actual
volume of the base that reacted with the sample.

4. What is the importance of simmering the tablet in the NaOH solution for 20 minutes?
Simmering the solution helps to ensure that all of the aspirin has been converted to its
conjugate base, sodium acetylsalicylate. This is important because the titration reaction only occurs
between sodium acetylsalicylate and HCl.

5. Discuss the possible sources of errors and their effect on calculated parameters.
Possible sources of error include inaccurate weight measurements, when a lower molarity
is obtained, this will lead to an increase of %acetylsalicylic acid. Another is the incomplete hydrolysis
of the aspirin, which will affect the volume obtained in the titration process. Another is over-titration
which will cause calculations to be incorrect or inaccurate.

REFERENCES

[1] VintessentialAdmin. Sodium Hydroxide Solutions | Vintessential Wine Laboratorieshttps://w

ww.vintessential.com.au/standardising-sodium-hydroxide-solutions/.

[2] Bellevue College. Titration of Aspirin Tablets. https://www.bellevuecollege.edu/wpcontent/

uploads/sites/140/2014/06/aspirin_tablets_titration.pdf.

[3] Determination of Aspirin Using Back Titration;2005.http://www1.lasalle.edu/~prushan/B

ackTitration-lab4.pdf.