STPM Chemistry Practical

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EXPERIMENT 1
Topic

: Volumetric analysis Stoichiometry

Purpose

: To determine the exact concentration of a monobasic acid, HX.

Materials

: (i)
(ii)
(iii)

Apparatus : (i)
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
(v)
(vi)
(vii)
(viii)
(ix)

150 cm3 of KA1 ( x mol dm3 of monobasic acid, HX)

2.00 g of solid sodium hydroxide, NaOH
Phenolphthalein as indicator
Three titration flasks
One 25 cm pipette and pipette filler
One 100 ml volumetric flask and stopper
One 50 cm burette
One retort stand and clamp
One white tile
One wash bottle filled with distilled water
One spatula
One electronic balance 0.01g (Common use)

Theory :
Acid-base titration is used to determine the concentration of monobasic acid, HX. The reaction is
given by the following equation:
NaOH (aq) + HX(aq) NaX(aq) + H2O(l)
The concentration of the monobasic acid, HX may be determined using the following formula:

Where:

= The concentration of monobasic acid, HX in mol dm3

= The volume of monobasic acid, HX in cm3
= The concentration of sodium hydroxide solution in mol dm3
= The volume of sodium hydroxide solution in cm3
= Ratio of number of moles of HX to the number of moles of NaOH =

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Procedure :
(A)

Preparation of 100 cm3 of NaOH 0.500 mol dm3

1.

The mass of sodium hydroxide required for the preparation of 100 cm3 of 0.500 mol
dm3 sodium hydroxide solution
=
=

(23.0 + 16.0 + 1.0)

(23.0 + 16.0 + 1.0)

= 2.00 g
2.

A 100 ml beaker is rinsed thoroughly with distilled water and dried.

3.

2.00 g of sodium hydroxide is weighed in the dry beaker using electronic balance.

4.

25.0 cm of distilled water is pipetted into the beaker containing sodium hydroxide.

5.

The mixture is stirred using a glass rod to dissolve the sodium hydroxide pellets.

6.

A 100 ml volumetric flask is rinsed thoroughly with distilled water.

7.

The sodium hydroxide solution in step 5 is transferred into the 100 ml volumetric flask.

8.

The beaker is rinsed with distilled water. The water from the rinsing process is poured
into the volumetric flask. The rinsing process is repeated several times to make sure
that all the sodium hydroxide is transferred into volumetric flask.

9.

Distilled water is added drop by drop into volumetric flask using a dropper or wash
bottle until the meniscus of solution reach the 100 cm calibration mark.

10. Volumetric flask is stoppered tightly. Then it is shaken and inverted until a
homogeneous solution of 0.500 mol dm3 NaOH is obtained.

(B)

Titration of 25.0 cm of KA1 with KA2 (Standard solution of NaOH 0.500 mol dm3)
1. A burette is rinsed with distilled water to remove any residue of chemicals. About 5 cm
of KA2 is poured slowly down the inside surface of the burette. Then, all the KA2
solution is discarded by opening the stopcock all the way. This will force all the solution
and air out of the tip of the burette.
2. KA2 is filled into the burette until the 50 ml calibration mark is reached. The initial
burette reading is recorded in Table 1.
3. Next, 25.0 cm of KA1 is pipetted into a titration flask.
4. Two drops of phenolphthalein indicator are added to KA1 in the titration flask.
5. The mixture is swirled to ensure thorough mixing before it is titrated with KA2.
6. The titration flask is constantly swirled during the titration process. Stopcock is used to
control the delivery of titrant.
7. When the mixture starts to develop a pink colour, the stopcock should be closed. Then,
the stopcock is slightly opened to allow KA2 to be added dropwise. At this point, titrant
(KA2) will be added one drop at a time followed by swirling until a very pale pink colour
persists for at least 30 seconds. This indicates that the end-point is reached.
8. The final reading of the burette is recorded.
9. The titration is repeated to get at least three consistent results.

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Results

Titration readings are recorded in Table 1.

Tiltration number

Accurate

Rough

First

Second

Third

Average

Final reading/ cm3

Initial reading/ cm3
Volume of NaOH/ cm

0
3

(i)

End-point is reached when the colour of the mixture in titration flask turns abruptly from
colourless to pale pink.

(ii)

Calculation to determine the average volume of titrant used:

Average volume of NaOH used =

(iii)

25.0 cm of KA 1 require

cm

cm of KA 1 for a complete neutralisation.

Calculation :
The equation for the titration is:

HX + NaOH NaX + H2O

From the equation, 1 mole of HX reacts with 1 mole of NaOH.

Concentration of monobasic acid, HX =

=

mol dm3

Conclusion : The concentration of monobasic acid, HX is mol dm.

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Comments :
Assuming that monobasic acid HX is a strong acid, it is known that during the titration of strong
acid with strong base the pH values of the mixture changes drastically from pH 3 to pH 10 at the
equivalence point.
The equivalence point is achieved when we have equimolar of H+ ions and OH ions in the
mixture. It is hence important to choose a suitable indicator, i.e. one that changes its colour
(end-point) at the equivalence point. The type of indicators used varies for different titrations.
The three indicators in the following changes colour in the pH range 3 10, making all of them
suitable to indicate the equivalence point of the titration between HX and sodium hydroxide
aqueous:
Indicator

pKInd

pH range

litmus

6.5

5-8

methyl orange

3.7

3.1 - 4.4

phenolphthalein

9.3

8.3 - 10.0

Precautions :
1. When adding solutions to the burette, the stopcock must be closed. The burette is tilted
slightly while pouring the solution slowly down the inside surface in order to prevent the
formation of air bubbles.
2. The burette is run through first with KA2 solution to remove the water inside the burette. This
will prevent the dilution of KA2 which would affect the accuracy of the titration results.
3. About 5 ml of KA2 is filled in first, then the stopcock is opened to discharge some of the KA2
into a small beaker until the there is no more air bubble in the tip.
4. A filter funnel can be used to fill KA2 into the burette. After filling in KA2 to a level just under
0.00 ml, we waited for a few seconds for the KA2 solution to drain to the top of the fluid level/
meniscus before we record the initial burette reading.
5. I have to touch the tip of the burette to the inside wall of a beaker to remove any drops on the
tip instead of wiping the tip.
6. In order to make the meniscus easier to see, a white card with a black mark on it is placed
behind the burette. The black mark is aligned to just under the meniscus.
7. Eye position is levelled with the bottom of the meniscus/ the surface of liquid. This is
because looking up or down on the meniscus will cause a parallax error.