CHEM 2124 General Chemistry II

Laboratory
Week 3 – DETERMINING THE CONCENTRATION OF CITRIC ACID
IN
SOFT DRINKS VIA ACID/BASE TITRATION (MAJOR LAB #1)
OBJECTIVE
In this laboratory exercise, the student will determine the amount of citric acid in
various soft drinks. This will be determined via acid-base titration with the use of
phenolphthalein indicator.
INTRODUCTION
The acid content of many foods and beverages contributes significantly to their
taste. Soft drinks often contain varying quantities of several acids, which give
sodas their tart flavor. In cola products, these acids are predominantly carbonic
acid (from the carbonated water) and phosphoric acid. In citrus flavored sodas
such as Sprite, Sierra Mist, and 7-Up the acids are carbonic acid and citric acid.
As we have discussed in class, acids can be classified as monoprotic, diprotic or
triprotic depending on the number of ionizable hydrogen ions. Examples of each
class of acid undergoing a neutralization reaction with sodium hydroxide are shown
below.
Monoprotic Acid: HCl (aq) + NaOH (aq) → H2O (l) + NaCl (aq)
Diprotic Acid: H2SO4 (aq) + 2 NaOH (aq) → 2 H2O (l) + Na2SO4
(aq)
Triprotic Acid: H3PO4 (aq) + 3 NaOH (aq) → 3 H2O (l) + Na3PO4 (aq)
Any acid that has more than one proton that undergoes a reaction with a base is
called a polyprotic acid. Citric acid, with the chemical formula of H3C6H5O7 is a
weak, polyprotic acid that undergoes a neutralization reaction with sodium
hydroxide to form water and a salt.with sodium hydroxide.
As you know, soft drinks are carbonated or “fizzy.” The chemical responsible for
this carbonation is carbonic acid which decomposes into H 2O and CO2. Prior to the
laboratory exercise, the majority of the carbonic acid will have been removed by
allowing the soft drink to go flat.
A buret is used in a titration to dispense measured increments of one solution into
a known volume of another solution. Careful technique will allow you to detect the
point where the reaction is complete; in this case, when all of the citric acid has
been reacted with the base. The technique of titration can be applied to other
types of reactions such as oxidation-reduction, precipitation, and other acid-base
neutralization reactions.
Indicators are used to provide visual information about the amount of acid or
base in a solution. You will be using an indicator called phenolphthalein for this
experiment. In a basic solution (a solution that contains more base than acid),
phenolphthalein is pink. In solutions that are acidic (a solution that contains more
acid than base), phenolphthalein is colorless. During the titration performed in this
experiment, the point where the indicator first changes from colorless to pink
corresponds to the point where the reaction is complete. This point is called the
endpoint of the titration.

In order to analyze unknown acids/bases, we must have a "standard" solution to

react with the unknowns. A standard solution is one in which the concentration
is known accurately. We will first prepare a standard solution of NaOH. One way to
prepare a standard solution is to dissolve an accurately massed amount of the
substance and dilute it to a measured volume. In this way, the concentration can
be calculated exactly. However, it is usually impossible to obtain NaOH of
sufficient purity to use it as a primary standard. An indirect method is more
practical for obtaining a standard solution of NaOH. We will prepare a solution of
an approximate molarity and standardize it against a primary standard of known
purity.

Many compounds can be used as primary standards. However, a primary standard

should:

be of high purity

remain unchanged in air during massing and remain stable during storage

have a high molar mass to reduce massing errors

react with the solution to be standardized in a direct, well-defined reaction

Potassium hydrogen phthalate (KHP) will serve as our primary standard. This is a
large molecule (KHC8H4O4) with a molar mass of 204.2 g/mol. KHP is a monoprotic
acidic substance and will react with NaOH in a simple 1 to 1 relationship according
to the following equation:

NaOH(aq) + KHC8H4O4(aq)  KNaC8H4O4(aq) + H2O(l)

After we standardize the sodium hydroxide with KHP, we will use this standard
base to determine the concentration of the citric acid in various brands of soda.
PROCEDURE
A. STANDARDIZATION OF NaOH
 1. Clean your buret by rinsing it with deionized water.
2. Rinse your buret twice with 10 mL of the NaOH solution that you will be
standardizing.
3. Fill the buret with the NaOH solution.
4. Accurately weigh approximately 0.5 g KHP and transfer it to one of your
250 mL Erlenmeyer flasks.
5. Add approximately 25 mL of deionized water and 2 to 3 drops of the
phenolphthalein indicator. Swirl the flask until all the KHP has dissolved.
6. Read the initial volume of NaOH solution in your buret to the nearest tenth
of a mL.
7. Slowly add the NaOH solution to the dissolved KHP until the first faint
lasting pink color appears. Placing a white piece of paper under your
Erlenmeyer flask helps you to better see this color change.
8. Once a lasting pink color (at least 30 seconds) has been reached, read
your final volume from your buret to the nearest tenth of a mL.
9. Calculate the molarity of the NaOH solution.
10. Repeat steps 1 through 9.
11. Calculate the average molarity of the NaOH solution from the two
trials.
B. TITRATION OF A SOFT DRINK
NOTE - The citric acid content in many soft drinks is quite low, so good
technique is critical.
1. Obtain 75 mL of one soft drink sample as assigned by the instructor. The
soft drink samples in your lab have been opened several days in advance
to assure they are decarbonated.
2. Pipette 25 mL of the soft drink into a clean 250 mL Erlenmeyer and add 2
to 3 drops of phenolphthalein.
3. Fill your buret with the standardized NaOH. Read the initial volume of
NaOH solution in your buret to the nearest tenth of a mL.
4. Slowly add the NaOH solution to the soft drink until the first faint lasting
(at least 30 seconds) pink color appears.
5. Once a lasting pink color has been reached, read your final volume from
your buret to the nearest tenth of a mL.
6. Calculate the molarity of the citric acid in the soft drink sample.
7. Repeat this procedure (steps 1 through 6) using a second 25 mL sample
of the same soft drink.
8. Calculate the average molarity of citric acid from the two trials.
9. From your average molarity of citric acid, calculate the number of moles
of citric acid per can or bottle of soft drink.
10. Finally, calculate the number of grams of citric acid there are in one
can or bottle of soft drink.
11. Repeat steps 1 through 10 using a second brand of soft drink as
assigned by the course instructor.
 CHEM 2124 General Chemistry II
Laboratory
Week 3 – DETERMINING THE CONCENTRATION OF CITRIC ACID
IN
SOFT DRINKS VIA ACID/BASE TITRATION (MAJOR LAB #1)
Name Date

PRE-LABORATORY ASSIGNMENT – Must be completed prior to

class.
SHOW ALL WORK ON CALCULATION PROBLEMS!
1. Write out the balanced neutralization reaction between citric acid and
sodium hydroxide.
 2. A solution is created by dissolving 25.0 g of NaCl in 150 mL of water. What is
the molarity of this solution?

3. What is the molarity of a diluted solution if 30.0 mL of 1.25M acetic acid is

diluted to a final volume of 175 mL?

4. Given the following reaction: 2Al (s) + 6 HCl (aq)  2 AlCl3 (aq) + 3 H2 (g)
How many grams of hydrogen are produced when 75.0 mL of 0.825 M
hydrochloric acid is reacted with an excess of aluminum?

5. How do you know when a titration of citric acid with a base has reached the
endpoint?

Data and Calculations

A. Standardization of NaOH with Potassium Hydrogen
Phthalate (KHP)

Trial 1 Trial 2
A Mass of KHP (g)

B Initial Buret Reading (mL NaOH)

C Final Buret Reading (mL NaOH)

 D Total Volume of NaOH used (mL)
(C-B)

E Molarity of NaOH (mol/L) (see

below)

Calculate the molarity of NaOH as follows:

M NaOH = g KHP x 1mol KHP x 1 mol NaOH

x 1000 mL
mL NaOH 204.23 g KHP 1 mol
KHP 1L

Calculations of NaOH Molarity:

Trial #1:

Trial #2:

Average Value of Molarity of NaOH (mol/L):

B. Titration of Soft Drink with NaOH

Brand Name of Soda Used:

Trial 1 Trial 2
A Volume of soda used (mL)

B Initial buret reading (mL NaOH)

 C Final buret reading (mL NaOH)

D Total Volume of NaOH used

(mL) (C-B)

E Molarity of citric acid in sample

(mol/L)
(see below)

Calculate the molarity of the citric acid as follows:

M Acid = mol NaOH x mL NaOH x 1 mol Acid x
1
1L 3 mol NaOH
mL Soda
Show the calculations of NaOH Molarity:
Trial #1:

Trial #2:

Average Value of Molarity of Citric Acid in sample (mol/L):

Volume of container of soda (mL and L):

Moles of Citric Acid per bottle of soda:

Calculations:

Molar mass of Citric Acid (g/Mole):

Mass of Citric Acid per bottle of soda (g):
Calculations:

Brand Name of Soda Used:

Trial 1 Trial 2
A Volume of soda used (mL)
 B Initial buret reading (mL NaOH)

C Final buret reading (mL NaOH)

D Total Volume of NaOH used

(mL) (C-B)

E Molarity of citric acid in sample

(mol/L)
(see below)

Calculate the molarity of the citric acid as follows:

M Acid = mol NaOH x mL NaOH x 1 mol Acid x
1
1L 3 mol NaOH
mL Soda
Show the calculations of NaOH Molarity:
Trial #1:

Trial #2:

Average Value of Molarity of Citric Acid in sample (mol/L):

Volume of container of soda (mL and L):

Moles of Citric Acid per bottle of soda:

Calculations:

Molar mass of Citric Acid (g/Mole):

Mass of Citric Acid per bottle of soda (g):
Calculations: