DISCUSSION

In this experiment, we managed to run two different methods in order to determine the
acid ionization constants,

value of the unknown weak acid used. The first method is the
titration between a sample of unknown weak acid with strong base, sodium hydroxide solution.
While, the second method is the half volume method where the sample of unknown weak acid is
correctly divided into two equal portion and one of them is being titrated with sodium hydroxide
solution.
When strong base, sodium hydroxide is added into a solution of unknown weak acid, the
hydroxide ions will react with the hydronium ions until the new equilibrium is established. When
the number of mole of sodium hydroxide added equals to the number of mole of unknown weak
acid present, a gradual change in pH will occur which can be detected by using pH electrode. In
the other words, the reaction has reached the equivalence point and any addition of base will
simply increase the pH value.
In the first method, we have determined the equivalence point by plotting the titration
curve. According to the curve, the titration between unknown weak acid and sodium hydroxide
has reached the equivalence point at pH 7.16. So, the volume of sodium hydroxide required to
neutralize the unknown weak acid would be 19.5 mL. By taking a point halfway to the
equivalence point, pH obtained is 4.25. From the pH, we got the concentration of [

] which is
5.62 x

M. At half distance to the equivalence point, [

] = [HA] = [

]. By cancelling
[HA] and [

] would result in

equals to [

]. Thus,

is equivalent to 5.62 x

.
In the second method, the pH value obtained after combining the solution is 4.95. From
the pH, we were able to calculate the concentration of

which is 1.12 x

M. Similar to the
first method, at half distance to the equivalence point, [

] = [HA] = [

]. By cancelling [HA]
and [

] would result in

equals to [

]. Thus,

is equivalent to 1.12 x

. The average

value from these two experimental methods is 3.37 x

. Hence, we consider the unknown

weak acid used is hydrazoic acid.
However, we have encountered a few errors while handling this experiment, causing our
outcomes to be disrupted. One possible error would be the incorrect technique of using burette.
The experimenters eyes is not perpendicularly aligned on the calibration of the burette. The
readings would be slightly deviated since the volume of titrant, sodium hydroxide is needed to be
examined for every 1 mL drop. This is also known as parallax error. Another error that occur
would be the failure in handling the pH electrode. The tips of pH electrode should be rinsed with
distilled water and wiped it out to ensure that neither acid nor base remained around the tip. If
not, this will trigger the pH value to be slightly increased or decreased from its originality. All in
all, correct technique of using laboratory apparatus is essential in order to obtain good data and
accurate reading in the experiment.










CONCLUSION

value is the indication of the strength of an acid. The larger the value of

, the stronger the

acid itself. From the findings of this experiment, we managed to determine the value

from
two different methods. By taking the average value, we got the

value of 3.37 x

. In
brief, the unknown acid used in this experiment would be hydrazoic acid. However, some
precaution steps should be taken before conducting this experiment to avoid from any
experimental errors.