Jonathan Skifano

CHE 111 Section 016

Grant Palmer
Michael Tucker
November 14, 2015

Finding the Concentration

Introduction
The goal of this lab was to be able to find the concentration of the Sodium Hydroxide and
the Citric Acid (French, et al., 94). The lab uses titration as well as using quantity analysis in
order to be able to find what the concentration of NaOH and Citric Acid is in the solution
(French, et al., 94). In the lab you need to find the amount of Citric acid based on what you find
the concentration of the NaOH to be (French, et al., 94). That is the goal of this lab is to find the
concentration of the unknown solution of Citric Acid in the beverages (French, et al., 94).
Titration is used mainly in Acid-Base reactions to find the concentration by finding the
equivalence point (French, et al., 94). To find the concentration you add one solution which is a
base to a solution with an unknown concentration which is an acid in order to find the
equivalence point in order to find the concentration of the unknown solution (French, et al., 94).
These Acid-Base neutralize each other at the equivalence point showing when they equal each
other and then they cancel out at the equivalence point in order to provide a neutral solution
(French, et al., 94). The equivalence point is when the solutions are one to one with each other so
all of the moles of both solutions cancel out (French, et al., 94). For this lab the two solutions
HCl ( aq ) + NaOH ( aq ) NaCl ( aq ) + H 2 O equal each other and the moles of all cancel out to

form

H2O

and NaCl with nothing left over (French, et al., 95). The equivalence point is

found in the graph of the titration in Chem21 when the second derivative has a point of inflection

(French, et al., 95). That point of inflection shows where exactly the equivalence point in the
titration happened (French, et al., 95).
The standardization in this experiment is the KHP which is used with Sodium Hydroxide
in order to be used to find with accuracy the concentration of the weak acid (French, et al., 95).
In order to make this lab as accurate as possible the Sodium Hydroxide is stored in a dry place in
order to prevent it from mixing with the air (French, et al., 95). In order to get the least error in
the equation the Sodium Hydroxide must also be exposed to the least amount of air possible
because it will mix with the C O2 in the air (French, et al., 95). The NaOH must be first tested
with the dry KHP in order to check a primary standard because the KHP will not absorb water
(French, et al., 95). The KHP must be dried by heating it up and then mixed with the NaOH in
order to find the exact concentration of the NaOH so the NaOH can be used to find the
concentration of the citric acid (French, et al., 96).
PH in a solution is used to tell if the solution is an acid or a base and how strong or weak
of an acid or base the solution is on the PH scale which is from 0 to 14 (French, et al., 96). PH is

found with the equation

solution is but when

+
H
+

and when H is higher the stronger of an acid the

pH=log

+
H is less the solution is more of a base (French, et al., 96). Each time it

goes up one pH then the strength is multiplied by 10 but each time it goes down one it is divided

by 10 (French, et al., 96). Whatever the equivalence point is will tell us what the concentration of
the citric acid is (French, et al., 96).
Burets are used in the experiment when finding the concentration of the solutions
(French, et al., 96). The Buret is measured typically from the top to the bottom unlike how items
are usually marked (French, et al., 96). In order to correctly read a Buret you must always read it
from the top instead of the bottom (French, et al., 96). When finding the measurements on the
glassware you must always guess to one more place than is marked on the item that you are
measuring with to ensure you have the most accurate measurements you can get (French, et al.,
96). If the Buret measures to one decimal place you must estimate the measurement to the next
decimal place to be more accurate (French, et al., 96). Doing that with all of your measurements
will result in a much better final answer to whatever you are trying to find because it will be
more accurate (French, et al., 96).
A system called MeasureNet will be used to calculate all of our data electronically
(French, et al., 97). It is used to also save all of the data that is found during the lab so that it can
be used for the calculations on Chem21 (French, et al., 97). When using the MeasureNet systems
the system and its parts must be handled with care due to how expensive they are (French, et al.,
97). When working on the MeasureNet it requires user to be signed into their account so the data
can be saved (French, et al., 97).
For this lab you must calibrate the pH electrodes for the calculations so they can more
accurately measure the data for the calculations (French, et al., 97). The electrode must be
calibrated accurately to the two solutions or else it will not correctly be able to measure the
titrations (French, et al., 97). Using the two solutions of pH of 4 and a pH of 10 to calibrate the
electrodes to the correct settings (French, et al., 97). The electrodes only need to be calibrated

once at the begging of the lab because the change throughout the lab is minimal (French, et al.,
97). The electrodes are very expensive and delicate and must be in their solution at all times
when not being used (French, et al., 97). The electrode must kept wet or in the solution at all
times because it will get destroyed if it is not (French, et al., 97).
The last item used in this lab is a drop counter which is used to count the number of drops
and when they drop and how they affect the pH in order to get accurate data on Chem21 (French,
et al., 98). When beginning the experiment enter the initial volume and final volume in the Buret
so that the drop counter can accurately determine the curve of titration (French, et al., 98). The
curve of titration will be found using the size and amount of drops in order build an accurate
curve for chem21 as well as having an accurate equivalence point (French, et al., 98).
Procedure
Followed the procedure done in the General Chemistry Laboratory Manual. No changes
made (French, et al., 98-101).
Discussion
The reason for doing this lab was to be able to find the concentration of NaOH from the
titration with KHP and then used to find the concentration of the Citric Acid (French, et al., 94).
In the lab we found using the KHP that the Molarity of the NaOH when we did the titration was .
157 M (French, et al., 95). We only had one graph for this due to having technical issues in the
lab so we had a deviation of 0 (French, et al., 95). We used the concentration of NaOH with the
test for Citric Acid to find that the Molarity of the Acid was .04894 M (French, et al., 95). We
also had problems with the tech doing that one and so we only did one test and only had a
standard deviation of 0 because we only had one test (French, et al., 95). Therefore using the

titration and everything else we found the concentration to be .04894 M for citric acid (French, et
al., 95).
The fact that we might not have been perfect and could have had some error would be for
a few problems with the titration (French, et al., 95). One reason that the concentration might not
have been perfect would be because when we were adding the drops of the NaOH to the solution
during the titration the drop counter made not have counted all of the drops which would affect
the Molarity due to not having a perfect equivalence point (French, et al., 98). Another reason
that our measurements were not perfect could be that the NaOH was exposed to air when we
were adding it to the Buret and it may have mixed with the air a little bit which would throw off
the reaction a little bit (French, et al., 95). The final reason our measurements may not have been
a hundred percent correct is because when we did the measurements a couple of the times we did
them the MeasureNet systems crashed and we lost our data which hurt us from getting more data
to compare the answer to (French, et al., 97).
Conclusion
I have learned throughout this lab how to successfully titrate a solution and how to
properly find the Molarity of the solution. I have also learned throughout the lab how to be able
to find the equivalence point when doing the titrations. I have also learned how to manipulate all
of that data in order to find the information I need to find using equations. That is what I learned
throughout this lab.

Work Cited
French, A.N., et al. Experiment 7: Determining an Unknown Concentration. General Chemistry
Laboratory Manual. Plymouth, Mi. Hayden-McNeil Publishing. 2015. 93-102. Web. November,
14, 2015.