In reading the burette, always remember that it must be in two decimal places.

Phenolphthalein

o Weakly acidic
o Colorless molecule, pink ion
o Colorless in acidic solutions
o Pink in basic solutions due to ions dissociating

Methyl Orange

o Weakly acidic
o Red or orange in acidic solutions
o Yellow in basic solutions
o The salmon pink endpoint observed in titration is due to the presence of phenolphthalein
in the same solution (?)

Phenolphthalein Methyl Orange

 pKa = 8  pKa = 3.4 (salmon pink)
 Pink color is achieved after pH 8  pH 3.1 = red
 Colorless below pH 8  pH 4.4 = yellow

SODIUM HYDROXIDE

 Strong base
 Huge volume of diluted HCl is used when titrating with the presence of phenolphthalein
due to the hydroxide ions fully dissociating in water; thus, the solution is strongly basic.
 Little to no volume of HCl is used when titrating with methyl orange because the solution
easily becomes less acidic.

NaOH + HCl —> NaCl + H2O, neutral

Volume of Phenolphthalein 3.70mL

Volume of Methyl Orange 0.00mL

SODIUM CARBONATE

 When HCl is added to a solution of sodium carbonate, the hydrogen ion in HCl reacts and
switches places with one of the sodium ions in Na2CO3. This produces sodium hydrogen
carbonate and NaCl as a by-product.
 Hydrogencarbonate is basic (weak) and is what reacts with phenolphthalein when
titrating with HCl.
 NaCl is what reacts with methyl orange when titrating with HCl.
  Almost equal volumes of phenolphthalein and methyl orange are used
 Di-protic base

Na2CO3 + 2HCl —> 2NaCl + H2CO3, acidic

Volume of Phenolphthalein 2.10mL

Volume of Methyl Orange 2.00mL

SODIUM BICARBONATE

 Weakly acidic
 A greater amount of HCl is used when titrating with methyl orange because the reaction
is reversible and a great amount of HCl is needed to convert sodium bicarbonate to
carbonic acid.

NaHCO3 + HCl <—> NaCl + H2CO3, acidic

Volume of Phenolphthalein 0.60mL

Volume of Methyl Orange 4.40mL

SODIUM BICARBONATE + SODIUM CARBONATE

Volume of Phenolphthalein 1.30mL

Volume of Methyl Orange 2.30mL

SODIUM HYDROXIDE + SODIUM CARBONATE

Volume of Phenolphthalein 3.50mL

Volume of Methyl Orange 1.50mL