TITLE : Analysis of an unknown acetic acid solution

OBJECTIVES : To prepare the sodium hydroxide solution, NaOH To standardise the base against potassium hydrogen phthalate To analyse the unknown acetic acid

RESULTS : A. Preparation of the sodium hydroxide solution Volume of NaOH taken from the stock solution = 3.33 mL

B. Standardisation of the base against potassium hydrogen phthalate 1 1.0000 22.6 0 22.6 2 1.0004 22.2 0 22.2 3 1.0006 21.7 0 21.7

Weight KHP Final volume of NaOH (mL) Initial volume of NaOH (mL) Volume of NaOH (mL) used Ratio volume of NaOH/weight of KHP

C. Analysis of the unknown acetic acid solution 1 10 42.5 0 2 10 42.8 0 3 10 43.0 0

Volume of unknown acetic acid (mL) Final volume of standard NaOH (mL) Initial volume of standard NaOH (mL) Volume of standard NaOH (mL) used

DISCUSSIONS: Sodium hydroxide is a hygroscopic solid which means it absorbs water from the air. A weighed quantity of sodium hydroxide therefore contains an unknown mass of water. Therefore, a solution of known molarity cannot be made by dissolving unknown mass of solid sodium hydroxide in water. The concentration of the sodium hydroxide solution in water must be determined experimentally. This is done by titrating the sodium hydroxide solution against a primary standard. A primary standard is a substance from which a solution of known concentration can be prepared. The concentration of sodium hydroxide prepared is 18.75M with volume of 3.3mL. The primary standard used in this experiment is potassium hydrogen ( ) phthalate, , which is referred to by the shorthand notation of KHP. KHP has several advantages: it does not absorb moisture readily; it is easily dried; it can be accurately weighed; it can be obtained in very pure form; it has a high molar mass of 204.22 g/mole; and it is very soluble in water. From the experiment conducted, the average final molarity of the NaOH is ( 0.221 0.0076 )M with 90% confidence interval range of 0.2134 to 0.2286. KHP is an acid, which reacts in aqueous solution to neutralize the base, sodium hydroxide, as shown below: ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ()

Vinegar is a solution of acetic acid in water. Acetic acid, is a weak monoprotic acid with molar mass of 60.05 g/mole. The percent by mass of acetic acid in vinegar can be determined by titrating a known amount of vinegar with a standardized solution of sodium hydroxide. The average percentage of weight obtained is ( 5.55 0.059 )% with confidence interval range of 5.491 to 5.609 . Acetic acid and sodium hydroxide react as shown below: ( ) ( ) ( ) ()

There are several errors that occur while conducting this experiment. Some are systematic errors while others are random error. One of the errors is parallax error. This error occurs due to incorrect eye position while measuring. To overcome this kind of error, the eye should be placed perpendicular to the scale of the measuring apparatus. Other error occurs because of the improperly calibrated burettes and conical flasks causing them to have volumes slightly different from those indicated by their graduations. These apparatus should be frequently calibrated in order to obtain more accurate reading of measurement. The flask also might not being thoroughly cleaned. There might be some leftover contaminants on the inner surface of the containers. This effect the purity of the solution used. Some reaction might occur between the solution and the contaminant thus affecting the precision of the quality tested in this experiment.

CONCLUSION: In order to prepare sodium hydroxide solution, NaOH solid sodium hydroxide is diluted in certain volume of distilled water. The mass of NaOH and volume of distilled water depends on the wanted molarity of sodium hydroxide solution. The average final molarity of the NaOH obtained from the experiment is (0.221 0.0076)M with 90% confidence interval range of 0.2134 to 0.2286. The average percentage of weight for acetic acid is (5.55 0.059)% with 90% confidence interval range of 5.491 to 5.609 .