Indicators And Buffers Lab

Chase Wagner

Lab Partner: Megan Junge

December 2, 2010

Purpose: The purpose of the lab is to understand the concept of buffers. Materials: - Wellplate - Distilled water - pH and litmus paper - NaHCO3 - Straw - NaOH - HCl Procedure: First, take a wellplate and add 20 drops of the distilled water into one well. Then, dip the end of the litmus paper into the substance and record the color results in a data table. Next add 20 drops of NaHCO3 solution into another well, and place the tip of the straw into it and blow gently for a couple minutes. Now remove the straw and test it with both indicator papers, record results in data table (this is now a buffer). Add 5 drops of NaOH into the distilled water well used before, and test it again with both indicator papers, record. Add NaOH, and testing periodically with pH paper, until the paper is the same color as from the other solution. Record the color and drops. Now repeat up until after making the buffer with clean dry wells. Add 5 drops of HCl into the well containing the distilled water. Test with both indicator papers and record resulting colors. Counting the drops, add HCl into the well containing the buffer solution, while testing periodically with pH paper, until the color is the same as the second distilled water solution. Record the color and number of drops needed in the data table. Dispose of the solutions down the drain with water. Throw the strips of indicator paper in the trash, then wash hands if necessary. Data:

# of drops pH Color of U.I.

D-H2O 20 7 green

NaHCO3 20 9 Blue-green

d-H2O + NaOH 5 13 purple

NaHCO3+NaOH 17 13 purple

# of drops pH Color of U.I.

D-H2O 20 7 green

NaHCO3 20 9 Blue-green

d-H2O + HCl 5 2 red

NaHCO3 + HCl 17 2 red

Calculations: None.

Graphs: None.

Conclusion/Discussion: The results of the lab were expected and considered a success. Although, at the beginning the buffer had to be re-synthesized as it was believed that the U.I. would not act properly additional substances were added, such as the distilled water. Therefore the buffer was remade which took roughly 3 minutes of lab time, which was seen as a minor setback, and the rest of the lab was done without incident.

Questions: 1. I think the purpose of blowing through the straw into the NaHCO3 was to add CO2 to the solution, to make it a buffer. 2. The buffer did work as intended, as it took more drops of NaOH and HCl to change the buffers pH than it did for distilled water to change, thus making the buffer more resilient than the water. 3. The water took about 5 drops of NaOH to change, whereas the NaHCO3 took about 17. This difference exists because the NaHCO3 was acting like a buffer, being less susceptible to change in pH. 4. The water took about 5 drops of HCl to change whereas the NaHCO3 took 17, the exact same amount as the NaHCO3 in the first test. This difference in drops exists because the buffer was working, being more resilient to change in pH than the distilled water. 5. HCO3- + OH- yield H2O4C 6.