Lab report, hand in within 48 hours

ACID/BASE TITRATION
Lab report
Name: Ehab Ahmed Jahubar Sathik
ID #: 260783035
TA name: Donald
Lab Section: Group A
Lab Date: 7 Jan, 2018

QUESTIONS
1. Explain why the volume of 0.100 M NaOH required to reach the equivalence point in the titration of
25.00 mL of 0.100 M HA is the same regardless of whether HA is a strong or weak acid, yet the pH
at the equivalence point is not the same. Explain your answer with examples when needed. (15
marks)
2. Phenolphthalein is a weak acid, explain what it means to be a weak acid and look up phenolthalein’s
pKa. (4 marks)
3. At the beginning of a titration to standardize the NaOH solution, Student A adjusted very carefully
the initial burette volume to 0.00 mL, but he did not notice an important air bubble in the tip of the
burette. At the end of the titration, the air bubble is gone. Explain the effect of that mistake on the
calculated molarity MB. (Will the experimental MB calculated by Student A be higher or lower than
the true MB value?) (5 marks)

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Answers:

1) In each case, the volume of acid and its molarity are the same. Thus, also the amount of acid
is the same in each case. The volume of titrant needed to reach the equivalence point will
also be the same in both the cases. Since the titrant has the same concentration in each case,
and it’s the same amount of base that reacts with a given amount(moles) of acid. As the
titration of a weak acid proceeds, the weak acid will ionize, replenishing the v in solution.
This will occur until all the weak acid has ionized and all the released H+ has subsequently
with the strong base. At the equivalence point in the titration of a strong acid with a strong
base the solution contains ions that do not hydrolyze. But the equivalence point solution of
the titration of a weak acid with a strong base contains the anion of a weak acid, which will
hydrolyze to produce a basic solution.
The neutralization reaction:
NaOH + HA  Na+ + A- + H2O
Also, by example the volume is the same regardless of whether HA (n= M*L) is a strong or
weak acid as stoichiometry of both reactions are the same.

2) A weak acid is an acid that is partially dissociated into its ions in an aqueous solution or
water. In contrast, a strong acid fully dissociates into its ions in water. The conjugate base of
a weak acid is a weak base, while the conjugate acid of a weak base is a weak acid. At the
same concentration, weak acids have a much higher pH value than strong acids.
If HIn represents Phenolphthalein, then its ionization reaction is:
HIn(aq) < --- > H+(aq) + In-(aq)
The pKa value of phenolphthalein is 9.3 which also justifies it’s a weak acid, as smaller the
pKa value, stronger the acid.

3) The air bubble at the tip of the burette can occupy a small space. Even though the student
adjusts the intial volume carefully, the total volume before the titration would be lesser than
the expected one. After the experiment, the air bubble was removed, but the actual volume
the student records would be less. The volume used to calculate would be larger.

According to equation: Ma*Va=Mb*Vb

If the Vb(vol. of NaOH used) is higher, the smaller number of molarity(Mb) would be
obtained. Therefore, the experimental Mb calculated by the student A will be lower than the
true value of Mb value.

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