Answers to Questions:

1.
The Plot of change in temperature vs. acid-base volume is shown below.
HNO3-KOH
5.00 4.59
4.50
4.00 3.61
DELTA TEMPERATURE

3.50 3.09
3.00
2.50
2.00
1.50
1.00
0.50 0.00 0.00
0.00
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
HNO3 VOLUME
Figure 3. The plot of Change in temperature vs. acid-base volume ratio for HNO3-KOH.
H2SO4-KOH
6.0
5.2
4.9
5.0
DELTA TEMPERATURE

4.0
3.1
3.0

2.0

1.0
0.0 0.0
0.0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
H2SO4 VOLUME
Figure 4. The plot of change in temperature vs. acid-base volume ratio for H2SO4-KOH.
The graphs show that the volume ratio that gives the highest change in temperature is the 50/50
volume ratio. It is because at this optimal ratio, all of the acid would react completely with the base
unlike other ratios in which there is a limiting reactant.

2. As expected, the calculated heats of neutralization of strong-acid-base reaction should be

constant regardless of the volume ratio and the identity of the reactants. This is because
strong acids and strong bases such as HCl, HNO3, and NaOH dissociate completely in dilute
solution and the heat required for ionization is very negligible. Thus, the heat of
neutralization would depend only on the heat produced in the formation of water which is
common to all acid-base reactions. The reactions are
HNO3 +KOH ----- H2O + KNO3
H2S04 + 2KOH - 2H2O + K2SO4
But contradict to what we expect, the results did not remain constant. This is due to some factors that
affect the validity of the experimental analysis. One example is that, the calorimeter used is an
improvised Styrofoam cup.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Atkins and de Paula. Physical Chemistry 8th edition. Oxford University Press, USA.
Perry’s Chemical Engineering Handbook. McGrawHill Publication. New York, USA.