1.

1 ABSTRACT
The aim of this experiment is to determine the molarity of a NaOH solution and the percent by
mass of acetic acid in vinegar by titration with the standardized sodium hydroxide solution.
Known concentration 0.6M of NaOH was used to titrate KHP in order to standardize the NaOH
solution. The data was recorder and the titration curve was plotted. From the curve, equivalent
point was obtained, the average molarity of standardized NaOH which is 0.701 M. For the
second part of the experiment,by using the standardized NaOH with the molarity of 0.701M,
titration of vinegar has been done in order to determine the molarity and the percent by mass of
the acetic acid in vinegar. It is found that the molarity of the acetic acid obtained was 0.5926 M
while its percent by mass is 3.559%.

1.2 INTRODUCTION
Quantitative study of a solution requires knowing the concentrations, which can be defined as the
amount of solute present in a given amount of solution or a given amount of solvent. Chemists
use different concentration units, each of which has an advantages as well as limitations. There
are the four most common units of concentrations; percent by mass, molarity, mole fraction.
There will be only two concentration units that will be focused more in this experiment which is
percent by mass and molarity.
The most commonly used units in chemistry, molarity (M), or molar concentration, which is the
number of moles of solute per liter of a solution. Molarity is defined as;
Molarity = moles of solute

(Equation 1-1)

liter of solution
Note that concentration is an intensive property, so its value does not influenced by on how much
the solution is. It is important to keep in mind that molarity only refers only to the amount of
solute initially dissolved in solution, and does not take into account any consequent processes.
Percent by mass which is also called as percent by weight or weight percent, is the ratio of the
mass of the solution multiplied by 100 percent:
Percent by mass =

mass of solute

x 100%

(Equation 1-2)

mass of solute + mass of solvent

Percent of solute =

mass of solute

x 100%

(Equation 1-3)

mass of solution
Vinegar is a dilute solution of acetic acid. Quantitative studies of acid-bases neutralization
reactions are most conveniently carried out using a technique known as titration. In titration, a
solution of accurately known concentration, called a standard solution, is added gradually to
another solution of unknown concentrations, until the chemical reaction between the two
solution used take place, along with the concentration of the standard solution, the concentration
of the unknown solution can be calculated.

Acetic acid with molecular formula; CH3COOH, its molarity and percent by mass in a vinegar
solution can be determined by performing a titration. Acetic acid which is weak acid will be
titrated with a strong base in order to determine the equivalence point of the reaction.
Equivalence point, that is, the point at which the acid has completely reached with or been
neutralized by the base. It is reached when the added quantity of one reactant is the exact amount
necessary for stoichiometric reaction with another reactant. In this experiment, the equivalence
point will be reached when NaOH solution completely neutralize the acetic acid.
1.3 OBJECTIVES
To determine the molarity of a solution and the percent by mass of acetic acid in vinegar by
titration with the standardized sodium hydroxide solution
1.4 THEORY
Titration is the volumetric measurement of a solution of known concentration when it reacts
completely with a measured volume or mass of another substance. In the titration process, The
experiment involves two steps: (i) Standardization of sodium hydroxide (NaOH) solution using
potassium hydrogen phtalate (KHP) solution, and (ii) titration of an acetic acid solution using the
standardized NaOH solution. The two steps, (i) and (ii), are basically similar. In order to titrate
acetic acid with a standardized sodium hydroxide solution, standardize hydroxide solution must
initially be prepared.
Sodium hydroxide is one of the bases commonly used in the laboratory. However it is difficult to
obtain solid sodium hydroxide in a pure form because it has a tendency to absorb water from air,
and its solution reacts with carbon dioxide. For these reasons, a solution of sodium hydroxide
must be standardized before it can be used in analytical work accurately. Sodium hydroxide
solution can be standardized by titrating it against an acid solution of accurately known
concentration. The acid often chosen for this task is a monoprotic acid called potassium
hydrogen phthalate (KHP), for which the molecular formula is KHC8H4O4 with molar mass of
204.2 g. KHP is a white, soluble solid that is commercially available in highly pure farm. Most
important, the primary standard should react with the solute of the solution being standardized in
a simple direct way.
3

The reaction between KHP and sodium hydroxide is;

KHC8H4O4 (aq) + NaOH (aq) -- KNaC8H4O4 + H2O (l)

(Equation 1-4)

And the net ionic equation is

HC8H4O4- (aq) + OH- (aq) --- C8H4O42- (aq) + H2O (l)

(Equation 1-5)

The procedure for the titration is shown in figure.. First, a known concentration of KHP is
transferred to an Erlenmeyer flask and some distilled water is added to make up a solution. Next,
NaOH is carefully added to the KHP solution from a buret until we reach the equivalence point,
that is, the point at which the acid has completely reached with or been neutralized by the base.
In this experiment, the equivalence point in the titration of acetic acid and sodium
hydroxide NaOH occurs when the moles of acetic acid in the solution equals to the moles of
sodium hydroxide. For instance, the schoimetric amount of 1 mole of sodium hydroxide is
necessary to neutralize the 1 mole of acetic acid, as the equation follows;
CH3COOH (aq) + NaOH (aq) -- CH3COOH (aq) + H2O (l)

(Equation 1-6)

This equation can be simplified to

CH3COOH (aq) + OH- (aq) -- CH3COO- (aq) + H2O (l)

(Equation 1-7)

The acetate ion undergoes hydrolysis as follows;

CH3COO- (aq) + H2O (l) -- CH3COO- (aq) + OH- (l)

(Equation 1-8)

Therefore, at the equivalence point, when we only have sodium acetate present, the PH will be
greater than 7 as the result of the excess OH - ions formed. One way to know whether the titration
has reached the equivalence point is to observe the sudden change in the pH of the solution.

The concentrations of H+ and OH- ions in aqueous solutions are normally very small numbers
therefore it is difficult to work with. A more practical measure was introduced by a Danish
chemist named Soren Sorensen, called pH. The pH of a solution is defined as the negative
logarithm of the hydrogen of the hydrogen ion concentration (in mol/L):
pH = - log [H3O+]

(Equation 1-9)

or simply,
pH = - log [H+]

(Equation 1-10)

Because pH is simply a way to express hydrogen ion concentration, acidic and basic solutions at
25oC can be distinguished by their pH values, where as follows:
Acidic solutions: [H+] > 1.0 x 10-7 M, pH < 7.00
Basic solutions: [H+] < 1.0 x 10-7 M, pH > 7.00
Neutral solutions: [H+] = 1.0 x 10-7 M, pH = 7.00
As we notice, as [H+] increases, pH decreases. In this experiment, pH electrode will be used in
order to determine the pH of the solution. A pH electrode will be placed in one of the acid
solutions and a solution of one of the bases will slowly drip from a buret into the acid solution at
a constant rate. A titration curve is normally a plot of pH versus volume of titrant. The titration is
started by putting the pH electrode into a beaker containing acid solution (acetic acid which pH
within 3-5) where sodium hydroxide will be incrementally added to the acetic acid thus, some of
the hydrogen ion will be neutralized.
The pH of the solution will gradually increase because the concentration of the hydrogen ion
decreases. Sufficient addition of NaOH to completely neutralize the acetic acid will cause the
next drop of NaOH added produce a sudden increase in pH (in Figure 1.2). The volume of NaOH
needed to completely neutralize the acetic acid can be determined at the equivalence point of the
titration curve. (Chang. R, et. al, 2013)

1.5 APPARATUS AND CHEMICALS

APPARATUS
50 mL burettes, 600 mL beaker, 250 mL Erlenmeyer flasks, 10 mL volumetric flask, weighing
bottle, ring stand and ring, analytical balance, magnetic stirrer, spatula, pH meter, pH electrode.
CHEMICALS
0.6 M NaOH, potassium hydrogen phthalate ( KHP, primary standard), vinegar solution.

1.6 PROCEDURE
Part A : Standardization of Sodium Hydroxide solution
1. Two hundred and fifty mL (250 mL) of approximately 0.6 M sodium hydroxide
solution from NaOH solid was prepared by the laboratory instructor.
2. A 250 mL beaker was weighed and the mass to the nearest 0.001 g was recorded. 1.5
grams of KHP was added to the beaker. The mass of the beaker and KHP to the nearest
0.001 h was recorded. The mass of KHP was calculated by the difference and the data
was recorded. 30 mL of distilled water was added to the beaker. The solution was stirred
until the KHP dissolved completely.
3. This solution was titrated with NaOH and the pH with 1 mL additions of NaOH
solution was recorded.
4. Steps 2 to 3 was repeated to perform a second trial to standardize the NaOH solution.
5. The graph of pH versus NaOH was plotted. From the plots, the volume of NaOH
required to neutralize the KHP solution in each titration was determined.
6. The molarity of sodium hydroxide was calculated for titration 1 and 2.
7. The average molarity of sodium hydroxide solution for titration 1 and 2 was calculated.
The resulting sodium hydroxide concentration was used in part B of the experiment.

Part B : Molarity of acetic acid and percent of vinegar

1. Ten mL (10.0 mL) of vinegar was transferred to a clean, dry 250 mL beaker using a 10
mLvolumetric pipette. 75 mL of distilled water was added, so that the pH electrode tip
was covered during the titration.
2. One mL (1 mL) of NaOH was wadded to the vinegar solution and the pH was
recorded.
3. Steps 1 and 2 was repeated once again.
4. The graph of pH versus volume NaOH added was plotted. From the plots, the volume
of NaOH required to neutralize vinegar in each titration was determined. The data was
recorded.
5. The average molarity of acetic acid for each titration was calculated.
6. The percent by mass of acetic acid in vinegar for titration 1 and 2 was calculated.
7. The percent by mass of acetic acid in vinegar was calculated.

Buret
containing
NaOH

Beaker
containing
KHP/Vinegar
pH meter

Figure 1.1 : Apparatus set up

1.7 RESULTS
Experiment 1: Standardization of sodium hydroxide solution

Mass of beaker (g)

Mass of beaker + KHP (g)
Mass of KHP (g)
Volume of NaOH to neutralize

Titration 1
112.969 g
114.471 g
1.5020 g
10.51 mL

Titration 2
113.306 g
115.108 g
1.5043 g
10.49 mL

the KHP solution (mL)

Molarity of sodium hydroxide for titration 1: 0.6999 M NaOH

Molarity of sodium hydroxide for titration 2: 0.7022 M NaOH
Average molarity of sodium hydroxide: 0.701 M NaOH

Experiment 2: Molarity of acetic acid and percent by mass in vinegar

Volume of NaOH required to

Titration 1
8.307 mL

Titration 2
8.536 mL

neutralize vinegar

Molarity of acetic acid for titration 1: 0.5867 M CH3OOH

Molarity of acetic acid for titration 2: 0.5984 M CH3OOH
Average molarity of acetic acid: 0.5926 M CH3OOH
Percent by mass of acetic acid in vinegar for titration 1: 3.524%
Percent by mass of acetic acid in vinegar for titration 2: 3.594%
Average percent by mass of acetic acid in vinegar: 3.559%
Experiment 1: Standardization of sodium hydroxide solution
Titration 1: Initial pH : 3.98
8

Table 1.1: Results of titration 1

Volume of NaOH (mL)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13

pH
4.08
4.41
4.46
4.57
4.78
4.95
5.29
5.4
5.4
6.05
11.48
12.11
12.35

Titration Curve of KHP with NaOH

14
12
10
8
pH

6
4
2
0

10

12

14

Volume NaOH, mL

Figure 1.2 : Titration curve of KHP with NaOH. The volume of NaOH used at the equivalence
point is 10.51mL at pH 8.765

Titration 2 Initial pH : 4.06

Table 1.2: Results of titration 2
Volume of NaOH (mL)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13

pH
4.01
4.27
4.62
4.72
4.93
5.05
5.23
5.41
5.69
6.10
11.53
12.08
12.23

Titration Curve of KHP with NaOH

14
12
10
8
pH

6
4
2
0

10

12

14

Volume NaOH, mL

Figure 1.3: Titration curve of KHP with NaOH. The volume of NaOH used at the equivalence
point is 10.49mL at pH 8.815

10

Experiment 2: Molarity of acetic acid and percent by mass in vinegar

Titration 1: Initial pH : 2.89
Table 1.3: Results of titration 1
Volume of NaOH (mL)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11

pH
3.73
4.00
4.31
4.51
4.75
4.96
5.30
5.89
11.30
11.72
11.91

Titration Curve of CH3COOH with NaOH

14
12
10
8
pH

6
4
2
0

10

12

Volume NaOH, mL

Figure 1.4: Titration curve of CH3COOH with NaOH. The volume of NaOH used at the
equivalence point is 8.307 at pH 8.595

Titration 2: Initial pH : 2.96

11

Table 1.4: Results of titration 2

Volume of NaOH (mL)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11

pH
3.82
4.89
4.28
4.64
4.89
5.10
5.47
6.44
11.51
11.80
11.97

Titration Curve of CH3COOH with NaOH

14
12
10
8
pH

6
4
2
0

10

11

Volume NaOH, mL

Figure 1.5: Titration curve of KHP with NaOH. The volume of NaOH used at the equivalence
point is 8.536 mL at pH 8.975

1.8 CALCULATIONS
To calculate the moles of KHP used in the titration
12

1.5020 g x 1mol KHC H O 0.007356 mol KHC H O

8 4 4
8 4 4
204.2 g

To calculate the moles of NaOH required to neutralize the moles of KHP

0.007356 mol KHC H O x 1 mol NaOH
8 4 4

0.007356 mol KHC H O

8 4 4

1 mol KHC H O
8 4 4

To calculate the molarity of NaOH solution

10.510 mL NaOH x 1 L

0.010275 L NaOH

1000 mL

M =mol NaOH =0.007356 mol NaOH=0.7152mol NaOH =0.6999 M NaOH

L solution

0.010275 L solution

L solution

To calculate the average molarity of NaOH solution

Molarity 1+ Molarity 2

Average Molarity

2
0.6999 M NaOH +0.7022 M NaOH

0.701 M NaOH

2
To calculate percentage error of experiment
Percentage error Experimental valueTheoretical value x 100
Theoreticl value

13

 0.701 M NaOH0.6 M NaOH x 100 =16.83

0.6 M NaOH

To calculate the moles of NaOH that reacted

8.37 mL NaOH x 1 L=0.00837 L NaOH
1000 mL

0.0083701 L NaOH x 0.701 mol NaOH =0.005867 mol NaOH

1 L NaOH solu tion

To calculate the moles of CH3COOH neutralizd by the moles of

0.005867 mol NaOH x 1 mol CH3COOH

NaOH

0.005867 mol NaOH

1 mol NaOH
To calculate the molarity of CH3COOH solution
10.0 m L CH3COOH x 1 L

0.01 L CH3COOH

1000 mL
M =mol CH3COOH
L solution
0.5867 M

0.005867 mol CH3COOH

0.01 L solution

0.5867 mol CH3COOH

L solution

CH3COOH
14

To calculate the average molarity of solution

Molarity 1+ Molarity 2

Average Molarity

2
0.5867 M CH COOH +
3

0.5984 M

CH3COOH = 0.5926 M

CH3COOH

To calculate the mass of acetic acid in the solution

10.0 m L CH COOH x 1 L
3

0.01 L CH COOH
3

1000 mL
0.01 L CH COOH
3

x 0.5867 mol CH COOH

3

x 60.06 g CH COOH = 0.3524g

3

CH3COOH
1 L solution

1 mol CH COOH
3

To calculate the mass of the acetic acid solution

10.0 mL CH COOH
3

x 1 g CH COOH
3

10.0 g CH COOH
3

solution

1 mL CH COOH solution
3

To calculate the percent by mass of acetic acid in the solution

15

ercent mass

CH3COOH

1 g CH COOH
3

100

g CH COOH solution
3

ercent mass

CH3COOH

0.3524 g CH COOH
3

100 =3.52 9

g CH COOH solution
3

To calculate the average percent by mass of CH3COOH

( Percent by mass 1+ percent by mass 2 ) /

3.524
CH3COOH +

2= Average Molarity

3.594 CH3COOH /2=3. 559

CH3COOH

To calculate percentage error of experiment

Percentage error 3.559 4.00 x 100
4.00

11.025

1.9 DISCUSSION
The reaction of acid and base is one of the most common experiments that plays a great
role in the world of chemistry. There were two analysis that been made in this experiment which
standardization of NaOH and to determine the molarity and percent by mass of acetic acid in
vinegar. The experiment was done by titration method. However, the percentage error of 16.83%
was obtained for the experiment standardization of NaOH. While for experiment 2, the
calculated percent by mass in acetic acid is 11.025%.

16

For the first experiment, there was a sudden increase of pH value in NaOH from pH 6.05
to 11.48. During the time when the pH was increased suddenly, the equivalence point in the
titration of KHP and sodium hydroxide NaOH occured when the moles of KHP in the solution
equals to the moles of sodium hydroxide. Hence, the volume obtained at the equivalence point is
10.51 mL of NaOH. For the second trial, same method was conducted. The trend of the results
obtained was similar. The molarity obtained from the first trial was 0.699 M and from the second
trial was 0.7022 M. The average molarity of NaOH obtained was 0.701 M.
The average molarity of NaOH solution obtained is 0.701 M compared to the prepared
NaOH by the laboratory assistant which was 0.6 M. Thus, the percentage error obtained was
16.83%. There are some factors that may contribute to the high of percentage error. One of the
factors is the standardized solution of NaOH itself, as the NaOH solution need to be standardized
in the first section of the experiment. The mass of KHP needed to be weighed accurately to 4
significant figures. Besides, some impurities may be present during the dilution of KHP with
distilled water which caused the titration with NaOH to be interfered with those impurities.
Therefore, the value obtained during the experiment did not match with the theoretical value.
As the second part of the experiment, 10.0 mL of vinegar was used in order to determine
the molarity and percent by mass of acetic acid in it. The titration of acetic acid with NaOH is a
typical weak acid-strong base titration and when CH3COOH solution is titrated with a NaOH
solution, the pH of the acidic solution is initially low. This can be seen in Figure 1.4. As NaOH
was being added, the change in pH rises gradually and then becomes almost constant until close
to the equivalence point. Near the equivalence point, the pH of acetic acid increases rapidly
which is from pH 5.89 to 11.30. But then again, the change in pH then becomes more gradual
again after the equivalence point. At the equivalence point a basic salt, NaCH 3COO, remains in
solution so the pH is greater than 7.00 because reaction of weak acid and strong base will
produce basic solution.
The molarity of acetic acid obtained for the first trial was 0.5867 M as for the second trial
was 0.5984 which produce the average molarity acetice acid of 0.5926. In order to calculate the
molarity of acetic acid, the concentration of NaOH from the first experiment was used. The
percent by mass of acetic acid for each trial was calculated, 3.3524% and 3.584% respectively.

17

The average percent by mass of acetic acid calculated was 3.559%. This value was compared to
the theoretical value of percent by mass in vinegar which is about 4% to 5%.

1.10 CONCLUSION
Standardization is a process of determining the concentration of solution. Whereas
titration is a technique of accurately measure the volume of solution that required to reacts with
another solution. Titration is used to neutralize acid and base until it reach its equivalence point.
Based on experiment 1, it can be conclude that the experimental molarity of solution obtained
0.701 M was differ from the theoretical value which is 0.6 M. this may be because NaOH
solution prepared has some any impurities that cause to the inaccurate of determining its exact
values. In experiment 2, the known concentration of standardized sodium hydroxide, which was
0..701 M was used to titrate vinegar solution. The value obtained for percent by mass of acetic
acid in vinegar was 3.559%. This value also was being compared to the theoretical value which
is 4% to 5% acetic acid in vinegar. At the end of this experiment, the result from the percent
mass obtained was satisfied the theory and the experiment was successfully achieve the objective
to determine the concentration of acetic acid in vinegar. The experimental error for experiment 1
was 16.83% experiment 2 was 11.025%. These errors were obtained because of some errors that
occurred during the experiment. Recommendations of the experiment might be followed in order
to improve the experiment hence more accurate results can be obtained.

1.11 RECOMMENDATION
There are some of the recommendations that suggested to improve the experiment in order to get
more precise and accurate value. The recommendations are as follow;
1) Take the reading of pH precisely on the pH meter reading in order to get the accurate
reading of pH. Eye must be parallel and same level to the meniscus in order to avoid
parallex error.
18

2)

Clean the apparatus thoroughly before to avoid the impurities of solution from the
surrounding. For example, the beaker to be cleaned first with distilled water before using

it.
3) Electrodes are kept in standard pH 7 buffer solution when not in use.
4) While weighing KHP, and to record the mass, 4 decimal places need to be considered as
it is more accurate and can reduce the difference amount of percentage error.
1.12 REFERENCES/APPENDICES
1. Chang, R., & Goldsby, K.A. (2013). Chemistry, Eleventh Edition. New York:

The

McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

2. Titration.info. Retrieved October 10, 2013, from http://www.titrations.info/acid-basetitration-sodiumhydroxide
3. Faculty of Chemical Engineering, 2015, Lab Manual for Chemical Engineering
Laboratory: Determination of The Concentration of Acetic Acid in Vinegar. Universiti
Teknologi Mara: Faculty of Chemical Engineering.
4. Titration of Vinegar, Retrieved October 10, (n.d), from
http:// faculty.sites.uci.edu/chem1l/files/2013/11/C06aMANtitrationcurves.pdf
5. Alberty, R.A. (1997). Physical Chemistry. (3rd. Ed.) New York: John Wiley.
6. Carbony, G.. (2004).E xperiment with Acids and Bases. Retrieved August 14,
2010, from http: / / www. funsci.com/ fun3_en/ acids/ acids.html

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