1

QUIRONA, JERIC
ARAA

QUANTITATIVE DETERMINATION OF THE ACIDITY OF SOFTDRINKS

I. INTRODUCTION
A. Principle

Most chemical laboratories involves activities which determines the concentration of certain
acid or base in a given sample of solution. In determining the concentration of a solution, we
may not be interested in the products of a reaction rather on the relationship between the
different reactants. And so, neither of the reactants should be in excess in the reaction. One
method used on carrying out this reaction is known as titration. Titration is a reaction done by
carefully controlling the addition of one solution to another.

We recall that the acidity or basicity of a solution can be measured according to its pH. Acids
or acidic solutions normally have a pH value less than 7 while basic solutions have a pH value
greater than 7. However, when a solution has pH value equivalent to 7, it is held as a neutral
solution. One trick is by stopping the titration at the point where both of the reactants have
reacted fully simultaneously with no probable excess. This point is called the equivalence point
of the carried out titration (Petrucci et al., 1997).

To determine the equivalence point in a titration, then, exact volume of the base must be
added from the burette to the acid in the flask. One way to do this is by adding a few drops of an
acid-base indicator to the acid solution at the start of titration. An indicator is a compound that
has distinctly different colors in its nonionized and ionized forms depending on the pH of the
solution. When the indicator already changes color, then the end point of titration occurs (Chang
et al., 2013). The indicator preferable to use depends on its ability change color at a pH
corresponding as nearly as possible to the pH of the completed titration solution. (Torio et al.,
2012). There are many examples of indicator like thymol blue, methyl orange, cresol red,
bromothymol blue, and phenolphthalein but in here, we are to consider phenolphthalein as our
indicator.

B. Objectives
 2
In preparing for this experiment, we are to prepare and standardize a solution of
sodium hydroxide to a HKC8H4O4 solution.
Also, in this particular experiment, we are to determine the concentration of acidity of
softdrinks, a popular beverage which are classified as carbonated drinks as they are
infused by CO2 in their preparation through the use of standardized NaOH solution.
Softdrinks varies in flavor but the main ingredients of the drink is water and sugar.
Relative amounts of combined acids varies of which commonly used ones are
phosphoric acid (H3PO4) and citric acid (C6H8O7).
II. MATERIALS

A. Reagents

1. NaOH pellets 4. Two different samples

2. Potassium acid
of soft drinks (clear or
phthalate (HKC8H4O4)
slightly-colored)
3. Phenolphthalein

B. Equipment /Apparatuses

1. 250 mL beaker 4. 10 mL pipet

2. 250 mL Erlenmeyer 5. 50 mL base burette
6. Burette holder
flask
7. Iron stand
3. 250 mL volumetric
8. Stirring rod
flask 9. Top loading balance

C. Other Materials

1. Burette illuminator 2. White background

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.
 III. SCHEMATIC DIAGRAM OF THE PROCEDURE
A. Preparation of Sodium hydroxide (NaOH) solution

8.

Add with
Calculate the Transfer the
distilled water
mass needed to cooled NaOH
up to 250 mL
reach 0.05M solution into the
calibration
NaOH sample. flask.
mark.

Weigh the Fill a clean 250

mL volumetric Mix the contents
NaOH flask with 50 mL thoroughly.
pellets. distilled water.

Moisturize it for Dissolve it to 10

1-2 minutes in mL distilled
air. water.

B. Standardization of the NaOH Solution

9.

Weigh two
samples of Dissolve each Add 2 - 3 drops
0.150 g sample in about of
HKC8H4O4 in two 30 mL of phenolphthalein
Erlenmeyer distilled water. .
flasks.

Rinse and fill a

Record the Titrate each clean burette
volume of the Potassium acid with the NaOH
titrant (NaOH) phthalate solution
used. solution. prepared in Part
A.
10.
C. Determination of the Acidity of Softdrinks
11.

Make two trial

Heat about 75 mL
samples of each Shake until no
of the softdrink
different brands of more bubble
sample for 5
colorless or slightly formation is visible.
minutes.
colored softdrinks.

Transfer 20.0 mL of
each softdrink
sample in to each
Erlenmeyer flask
using pippette.
Determine the
Add 2-3 drops of
acidity of the
phenolphthalein as
softdrinks through
indicator.
the recorded data.

IV. DATA AND OBSERVATIONS

A. Preparation of NaOH
1. Derive a mathematical expression for determining the mass of the NaOH needed.

12.
13.
14.
2. Complete the table below.

15. Mass of 250 mL beaker (g) 16.

17. Initial mass of beaker + NaOH pellets
18.
(g)
19. Final mass of beaker + NaOH pellets
20.
(g)
21. Volume of the NaOH solution (mL) 22.
23. Concentration of NaOH solution (M) 24.
3. Using the formula above, determine the mass of the NaOH pellets needed.

25.
26.
27.
4. Is there any change in mass of the pellets after 2 minutes? If yes, account for the change
in mass.

28. _______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_____________.

5. Will the concentration of the NaOH solution prepared would deem to be exactly 0.05M?
Explain your answer.

29. _______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_____________.

B. Standardization of the NaOH Solution

1. Complete the table below.

30. Mass of HKC8H4O4 used (g) 31.

32. Initial burette reading (mL) 33.
34. Final burette reading (mL) 35.
36. Volume of titrant used (mL) 37.
2. Write the balanced chemical equation for the reaction that takes place when NaOH
solution is added to the Potassium acid phthalate solution.

38. _______________________________________________________
______________________.

3. Calculate the number of moles of Potassium acid phthalate used in each of the trials.
 39. Trial 1 40. Trial 2
41. 44.
42.
43.
45.
4. Calculate the number of moles of NaOH that can be neutralized by the amount of
HKC8H4O4 used.

46.

47. Trial 1 48. Trial 2

49. 52.
50.
51.
5. Calculate the molarity of NaOH solution.

53. Trial 1 54. Trial 2

55. 58.
56.
57.
(M )
6. Calculate the average molarity of the NaOH used.

59.
60.
61.
7. Will the amount of water used to dissolve the Potassium acid phthalate affect the volume
of the NaOH used? Why or why not?

62. _______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_____________.

C. Determination of the Acidity of Softdrinks

1. Give the balanced chemical equation for reaction that takes place when NaOH solution
is added to the softdrinks sample (represented both by phosphoric acid and citric acid).

63. _______________________________________________________
______________________.
2. Calculate the number of moles of NaOH used to neutralize the acids in each softdrink
sample.

64. Trial 1 65. Trial 2

66. 69.
67.
68.
70.
3. Calculate the number of moles of acids present in each 20.0 mL sample of softdrink.

71. Trial 1 72. Trial 2

73. 76.
74.
75.
4. Calculate the concentration (in molarity) of the acids in each softdrink sample.

77. Trial 1 78. Trial 2

79. 82.
80.
81.
83.
M
5. Calculate the average molarity ( ) of the acids in each softdrink sample.

84.
85.
86.
87.
6. Calculate the number of grams of acids present in 1L sample of each softdrinks.

88.
89.
90.
91.
V. REFERENCES
1. Petrucci, Ralph H., Harwood, William S., General Chemistry: Principles and
Modern Applications, 7th Edition, Prentice Hall, Inc., Simon & Schuster/A
Viacom Company, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458, 1997
2. Chang, Raymond, Goldsby, Kenneth A., Chemistry: Eleventh Edition, McGraw-
Hill Companies, Inc., 1221 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020,
2013
3. Torio, Mary Ann O., Alvarez, Paul L.J., et al., Laboratory Instruction Manual:
Chem 16.1, General Chemistry I Lab., Institute of Chemistry, CAS, UPLB, Los
Baos, College 4031, 2012

92.