Accelerated Chemistry Lab Report

Titration of Hydrochloric Acid

and Sodium Hydroxide
Semester 2/2019-2020
Mahidol University International Demonstration School

Edited by
Natlada Sermsintham
Supawan Sangnuch
Thanatcha Sippanakosol
Peemmawat Sattavacharavech
Sarin Sirimongkolsakul
Pukit Limyothin
 Content

Page
Abstract 2
Introduction 3
Objective 6
Experimental 7
Chemicals and Equipments 7
Flowchart 8
Results 9
Pre-Lab 9
Results 10
Discussion 11
Post-Lab 11
Discussion 12
Conclusion 16
Suggestion/Errors 17
Pictures 18
References 19

1
 Abstract

In order to perform this experiment, we need to know about neutralization reaction,

theory of acid-base, the technique of titration, as well as the several indicators being used
which are phenolphthalein, bromophenol blue and bromothymol blue. Our experiment is the
neutralization reaction between strong acid and base or HCl and NaOH solution, in which our
objective is to find the unknown concentration of HCl solution through titration method.
In this experiment, we used three indicators; phenolphthalein, bromophenol blue and
bromothymol blue. Firstly, we draw 10 mL of unknown concentration of hydrochloric
solution into a volumetric pipette and transfer it into an erlenmeyer flask. Secondly, we
added 2-3 drops of indicators to the acid solution in the flask. Then, place the flask under
the buret and start adding the sodium hydroxide solution until the color changed to the
desired color which are light pink for phenolphthalein, cloudy grey for bromophenol blue
and greenish blue for bromothymol blue, as well as measuring the pH of each solution.
Our result shows how much volume of base are used until the color of the solution
changed. The results are 16.05 mL used for solution with phenolphthalein, 15.05 mL for
solution with bromophenol blue and 15.65 mL for solution with bromothymol blue. Moreover,
the calculated concentration of HCl solution are: 0.08025 M for phenolphthalein, 0.07525
M for bromophenol blue and 0.07825 M for bromothymol blue.
The difference in volume of base determine the color of the solution according to
each indicator and the different in pH values. The solution with phenolphthalein turns pink
as the base solution is used the most, resulting in pH of 8.55 indicating a basic solution,
while the solution with bromophenol blue turning cloudy grey using the least amount of
base, thus resulting in pH 4.6 indicating a acidic solution. On the contrary, the solution with
bromothymol blue shown a neutral solution with the amount of base used sitting in between
the other two mentioned. However, some data can be inaccurate due to several human
errors.
From the experiment, we can conclude that the different indicator indicate three
types of solution which are acidic, basic and neutral solution according to the difference in
volume of base used in titration. We were able to calculate the unknown concentration of
the hydrochloric solution and identify the endpoint of each indicator.

2
 Introduction

Neutralization Reaction
Neutralization reaction or acid-base neutralization reaction is a chemical reaction
in which acid and base quantitatively react together to form salt and water (BYJU’s The
Learning App). To illustrate, the hydrogen ions H+ and hydroxide ions OH- will form water
while the rest will form salt which is the ionic compound composed of a cation from base
and anion from acid (Foundation). In this experiment, the two components reacting are
hydrochloric acid HCl and sodium hydroxide NaOH which are both strong acid and strong
base. The chemical equation of this reaction is shown below:

HCl + NaOH → NaCl + H2O

When a strong acid and strong base are fully neutralized, the pH is neutral. In other
words, the pH should be equal to 7.00 at 25 celcius. At this point of neutralization, there
are equal amounts of OH- and H+ where there are no excess NaOH. Therefore, when a
strong acid completely neutralizes a strong base, the pH of the salt solution will always be
7 ideally (Libretexts).

Titration techniques
Since neutralization reaction require mixing two solutions together, titration is
used. Titration is a process of adding a solution of a known concentration to a known
volume of another solution with unknown concentration until the reaction between the two
substances get neutralized (Chemistry Libretexts). In the present day, titrimetry has
numerous applications including analyzing acidity in rain water, identifying nutrition in
food, and proportionalizing compounds in medicine (Highland). Titrations are done using a
buret, which is a long, calibrated glass tube, with some type of valve (often a stopcock).
After cleaning, the buret is filled with a solution, either an acid or a base. Then, the
stopper is opened, allowing the valve and the dropper tip to fill with the liquid. Once the

3
 Introduction

valve and dropper tip are filled, the starting level of liquid in the buret is measured at the
bottom of its meniscus. Now the liquid in the buret is allowed to run out into a measured
quantity of material to be analyzed, in an erlenmeyer flask. In an acid-base titration
there will usually be one or two drops of an indicator added to the material in the flask. As
the titration went through the point where the amount of acid and base become equal,
there is a very rapid change in pH. Indicators are used to tell the color changes in the pH
where there is the sudden shift of pH, showing a signal when the reaction has reached its
endpoint. When the solution is approaching the endpoint, the acid or base in the buret is
added slowly, drop by drop. Another technique used is to swirl the erlenmeyer gently with
one hand while using the other to manipulate the buret. Generally, the endpoint is the point
where one drop causes a color change that lasts for at least 10 seconds (Carrying out a
Titration).

Indicators
In this lab, the titrant, which is Sodium Hydroxide (NaOH)
gets slowly dropped from a buret onto a beaker containing 10
mL of Hydrochloric Acid (HCl) and 2-3 drops of indicator. The
indicators get changed for different beakers, the 3 indicators
were Phenolphthalein, Bromophenol blue, and Bromothymol blue.
A pH indicator or acid-base indicator is a compound that changes
color in solution over a range of pH values. Its principle is that
it reacts with water to form the hydrogen cation H+ or
hydronium ion H3O+. The reaction changes the color of the
indicator molecule (Helmenstine).

4
 Introduction

Phenolphthalein
Phenolphthalein is a weak acid and colorless in
solution although its ion is pink. If hydrogen ions or
acidic solution were added to the pink solution, the
equilibrium would changed and change to colorless
solution. However, if hydroxide ions or basic solution is
added, the solution will turn to its ion or pink
(Kozlowski). Therefore, in our experiment, when NaOH
solution is added to a colorless HCl solution, it started
to turn pink as pH reach 8 and continues to darken as
pH increases.

Bromophenol blue
Bromophenol blue shows yellow color until a pH
of 3, has green color in a range of 3 to 4.6 and change
into blue after the pH 0f 4.6.

Bromothymol blue
The last indicator, Bromothymol blue give out a
yellow color for pH of 0 to 6, green color for pH of 6 to
7.6, and blue color for pH of 7.6 all the way up to 14. It
is mostly used in applications that require measuring
substances that would have a relatively neutral pH
(near 7).

5
 Objective

There are 3 main objectives of this experiment, one of which is to find the

unknown concentration of HCl solution by using titration method with the NaOH

solution. In other words, we should be able to apply the knowledge of neutralization

reaction, acid, base, titration techniques and indicators in doing this experiment.

Additionally, the second objective is to find and record the endpoint of each indicator

during filtration. Lastly, the third objective is to practice titrimetry process and

improve our knowledge of acids, bases, and indicators. Not only the knowledge of acids

and bases, we’ll also be more familiar with lab equipments and glasswares such as the

buret and the pipette. This way, the skills will be beneficial and we can use these skills in

the future when we get to do actual titration.

6
 Experiment

Chemicals

1. 0.05 M Sodium Hydroxide solution (in buret)

2. 10 ml hydrochloric acid solution

3. Distilled water

4. Indicators
a. Phenolphthalein

b. Bromophenol blue
i.
c. Bromothymol blue

Glasswares/Equipments

1. Beaker
2. Rubber bulb
3. 3 valves bulb
4. Electronic micropipette
5. Pipette
6. Buret
7. Erlenmeyer flask
8. pH meter
9. Dropper
10. Stand & Clamp

7
 Both HCL and NaOH solution are harmful to skin and eyes.
Affected area should be immediately washed thoroughly with water.

REPEAT these procedures with 3 different indicators:

Phenolphthalein, Bromophenol blue, Bromothymol blue

Obtain 100 ml of NaOH

solution in clean beaker.
F
L
(enough for initial cleaning 2
Record the molarity of buret and first 3 trials)
of NaOH solution
Clean buret:

O
add 5 ml of base
solution from beaker
to buret (use funnel).
Pour more NaOH solution

W
into buret until it’s near Move funnel around while
0.00 ml mark. adding to ensure sides of
Record initial buret buret are coated with base.

C
reading for trial 1 Open stopcock for several
Drain solution through
drops to rinse through tip of
stopcock into waste
buret (eliminate air bubbles
beaker.
in buret tip).
Draw 10 ml of HCl
solution into volumetric
pipette and transfer into Add 2-3 drops of H
A
erlenmeyer flask indicator to the
HCl solution in
the flask Place the flask under
buret and starting add

R
base solution. When pink
Conduct additional starts to develop, add
titrations until the volume solution more slowly
of NaOH used in both trials

T
differ no more than 1 ml one drop at a time followed by
swirling until very light pink
persist for at least 30 sec.
Refill buret with NaOH
solution if necessary.
Repeat as trial 2.
Record final reading on
buret. Wash the
contents of flask down
Measure pH of neutralise
the drain with water
solution by using pH meter
8
 Pre-Lab
1. How will you know when your titration is finished?

When the indicator change to the color range we want. For instance, for
phenolphthalein indicator, when the solution turn to light pink, when the bromophenol blue
indicator change to cloudy grey or when the bromothymol blue turn greenish lab.

2. Label the pH scale below with acid, base, and neutral, indicating numbers for each.
3. On the scale below, use an arrow to show where your equivalence point is located.

4. Write the neutralization reaction that occurs between hydrobromic acid (HBr) and
Lithium hydroxide (LiOH).

HBr + LiOH → LiBr + H2O

5. What is the concentration of 10 ml of HBr if it takes 16.73 ml of a 0.253 M LiOH

solution to neutralize it?

HBr + LiOH → LiBr + H2O

Mole ratio HBr : LiOH = 1 : 1
M = mol / L
LiOH : 0.253 M = mol / 16.73 mL
Mol of LiOH = 4.23269 = mol of HBr
M of HBr = 4.23269 / 10 mL
Therefore, the concentration of HBr is 0.423269

9
 Results
Concentration of Sodium Hydroxide : 0.05 M
Balanced chemical equation of the titration reaction
HCl + NaOH → NaCl + H2O
Phenolphthalein Bromophenol blue Bromothymol blue

Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 1 Trial 2

Initial buret volume

0.00 0.00 32.1 22.9 0.00 0.00
(mL)

Final buret volume

15.9 16.2 46.9 38.2 15.6 15.7
(mL)

Volume of base
15.9 16.2 14.8 15.3 15.6 15.7
(mL)

Volume of base (L) 0.0159 0.0162 0.0148 0.0153 0.0156 0.0157

Moles of base (mol) 0.000795 0.00081 0.00074 0.000765 0.00078 0.000785

Acid to Base Mole

1:1 1:1 1:1 1:1 1:1 1:1
Ratio

Moles of acid (mol) 0.000795 0.00081 0.00074 0.000765 0.00078 0.000785

Volume of Acid (L) 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01

Acid concentration
0.0795 0.081 0.074 0.0765 0.078 0.0785
(M)

Average
0.08025 0.07525 0.07825
Concentration (M)

pH 8.5 8.6 4.5 4.7 7.1 7.0

Color of product Light Cloudy Greenish

solution pink grey blue

10
 Post Lab
1. How would it affect your results if you use a beaker with residual water in it to
measure out your standardized sodium hydroxide solution?

If we used a beaker with residue water left over, the pH of the NaOH will be
lowered because water is neutral and having it mixed with our acid, water will partially
neutralize the base solution and will bring the pH of our acid closer to 7. Therefore,
beaker with residual water should be avoid to prevent errors and keep the data accurate
and precise.

2. How would it affect your results if you use a wet Erlenmeyer flask instead of a dry
one when transferring your acid solution from the volumetric pipet?

If we used a wet Erlenmeyer flask, the pH of the resulting titration will be

affected because there are more reactants in the flask than we initially wanted. To put it
another way, the pH would increase or the concentration of acid would decrease since
water is neutral, it will partially neutralize the acid solution and bring the pH closer to
neutral state.

3. How do you tell if you have exceeded the equivalence point in your titration?

The color of the indicator will be changed to a different color, which indicates
that the solution is in a different pH range. For instance, the phenolphthalein will change
to a brighter pink than the color we initially aimed for or the solution turn blue for both
bromophenol blue and bromothymol blue.

4. Vinegar is a solution of acetic acid (CH3COOH) in water. For quality control

purposes, it can be titrated using sodium hydroxide to assure a specific %
composition. If 25.00 mL of acetic acid is titrated with 9.08 mL of a standardized
2.293 M sodium hydroxide solution, what is the molarity of the vinegar?

C1V1 = C2V2
(9.08 mL)(2.293 M) = 25 mL (C)
C= 0.0833 M
The molarity of the vinegar is approximately 0.0833 M.

11
 Discussion
In this lab, we are observing the process of neutralization reaction. The complete
reaction can be observed as we are using both strong acid and base. We used three
indicators in this titration lab, which are phenolphthalein (endpoint at 9), bromophenol blue
(endpoint at 4), and bromothymol blue (endpoint at 7). The color of each indicator is light
pink, light indigo, and light cyan, respectively. In the titration process, we used
Hydrochloric acid (HCl) and Sodium Hydroxide (NaOH). The reaction can be represented by:

Acid + Base → Salt + Water

HCl + NaOH → NaCl + H2O

We used different amounts of Sodium Hydroxide or NaOH in each solution, therefore

the NaOH is our independent variable. Subsequently, the dependent variable is the pH of the
solution. Moreover, we kept the HCl as our control, using 10 ml while the concentration of
NaOH is given as 0.05 M.

In the phenolphthalein titration, we started

dropping NaOH into the HCl flask until we start to
observe the appearance of pink color after each
drop. However, when we swirl the flask around, the
pink disappears. Subsequently, we knew that the
solution is close to the range of our indicator;
therefore, we carefully drop the NaOH down and keep
swirling until it reaches the pH of around 8-9, or
when the solution turned to a light pink color,
thoroughly. We noticed that the solution changed
from a transparent color to a bright pink color in
one drop. Similarly, we replicated the process with
the bromophenol blue and with the bromothymol
blue. For the Bromophenol blue and Bromothymol
blue, we noticed that our titration is done when the
solution turned green.

12
 Discussion
When we measure the pH of the phenolphthalein titrant is around 8-9, which is
basic because we added more base to the solution than the acid it initially contains.
Similarly, the pH of the bromophenol blue is around 4-5, which is acidic, since we
dropped less base to the solution. From this observation, we could conclude that the pH
of the solution is base on the amount of Sodium hydroxide that we titrate in the
experiment. This mean adding the base solution would change the hydrogen [H+] or
hydronium [H3O+] concentration and the hydroxide [OH-] concentration.

For example for the phenolphtaleine, to calculate the unknown concentration of

HCL from the data that we recorded, the calculation can be show by the below process:

phenolphtaleine: HCL + NaOH -> NaCL + H2O

M=0.08 M=mol/L

M=8x10^-4 mol 0.05M=mol HCl NaOH

0.010 L 0.016 L
Avg. V 0.010 0.016 L

[] ? 0.05 M
8x10^-4 mol 8x10^-4 mol

Mole ratio
1:1

13
 Discussion
Similarly to other indicator for the Bromophenol and Bromothymol blue can be
calculated the same way respectively.

Bromophenol: HCL + NaOH -> NaCL + H2O

M=0.075 M=mol/L

M=7.5x10^-4 mol 0.05M=mol HCl NaOH

0.010 L 0.015 L
Avg. V 0.010 0.015 L

7.5x10^-4 7.5x10^-4 [] ? 0.05 M

mol mol

Mole ratio

1:1

Bromothymol: HCL + NaOH -> NaCL + H2O

M=0.078 M=mol/L

M=7.8x10^-4 mol 0.05M=mol HCl NaOH

0.010 L 0.0156 L
Avg. V 0.010 0.0156 L

7.8x10^-4 7.8x10^-4 [] ? 0.05 M

mol mol

Mole ratio

1:1

14
 Discussion
Because the concentration of Hydrochloric acid solution is unknown, this
mean the concentration is dependent on the volume of NaOH as it need to
maintain the moles ratio of base and acid as 1:1 following the chemical equation.
To find the concentration of HCl we need to solve from the concentration of
NaOH and find the mol of both acid and base solution. Then we use that mole
transfer them back by divided by the volume of HCl to find the concentration. As
the calculation show different concentration of HCl, it also determines the
concentration of hydrogen and hydroxide which cause the pH to change from just
a decimal point number.

The pH value of a reaction can be calculated by -log[H+]. While pOH value

could be calculated by -log[OH-]. As seen in the graph below, the log graph is a
very steep exponential graph. This meant that at some point, very little change
in ion concentration can have a huge impact on the solution’s pH. Therefore, an
extra drop of NaOH can change the pH of our titrant by a sharp rise.

We could conclude from this experiment that the volume o the solution
could change the pH and the color significantly, therefore we must be extra
careful to find the endpoint of each indicator. And the only indicator that has
the closest range to neutralization is Bromothymol blue where the equivalent
point is near to pH 7.

15
 Conclusion

In this laboratory report, we had discussed about titration methods using

hydrochloric acid and sodium hydroxide, how to calculate the mole of base, mole of acid and
calculate the acid concentration based on the acid-base theory or neutralization reaction
that we have learnt. We used three indicator with acid solution to do the experiment.
Phenolphthalein used averagely 16.05 mL of base solution. Bromophenol blue used
averagely 15.05 mL and Bromothymol blue used averagely 15.65 mL to change the color of
an acid solution to the desired color solution. The pH meter shows the result pH of each
indicator. Phenolphthalein was 8.55 so it is classified as basic solution, bromophenol blue
was 4.7 so it is acidic solution because the pH is lower than 7 and Bromothymol blue is
neutral because the pH was around 7. In addition, the final results about acid concentration
shows that phenolphthalein has the highest acid concentration which is 0.08025 M, followed
by bromothymol blue with 0.07825 M and the lowest with bromophenol blue of 0.07525 M.
However, the concentration of indicator that we calculate from the experiment might not
be much accurate and precise due to several human errors. Finally, we were able to achieve
all of our objectives and analyze possible errors as well as come up with suggestions to
improve in the next experiment.

16
 Suggestion
During the titration lab, there are many process that involve delicate steps and
accuracy usage of the equipments. Because we need the most accurate data, so we need to
perform the experiment twice to find the most accurate volume. However, some of our
experiments didn’t succeed and we need to perform it multiples times. This is due to the
fact that we had limited amount of time which match for performing the experiment
twice, as a result there are number of trials as we may have made some mistake during
each process. We started from using pipet and different types of bulb to measure the
Hydrochloric solution. In this step because we used different types of bulb like the 3
valves bulb or the electronic micro pipette, consequently there are misreading the
volume of the solution because the equipment are hard to handle. If there are any other
equipment that could prevent us from human errors would be better. The next step that
we perform is dropping in the indicator. Actually we should drop in the same amount for
every indicator, but some of used 2 drops while other used 3 drops.

The most frustrating steps is the titrating process itself. In the tutoring video it
was shown that we could drop the Sodium hydroxide solution until the color of the
solution was turn and reach the endpoint of the indicator. But in the real situation it was
really hard to reach the perfect point for each indicator as it have specific pH and specific
range of volume that we need to used. This mean if we mess up for adding NaOH the pH
could change to a different range and the color would also change. For instance, the
comparison between the volume of NaOH used between Phenolphthalein and Bromothymol
blue is different for a decimal place number that means we need other techniques to add
NaOH. In the experiment, when we were close to the phase where the color almost turn we
need to add distill water on the buret to drain the solution down with water. However,
there are some drawbacks, if we were not careful enough the pH will change which is the
effect from water that changed the concentration.

To improve the experiment, we should be cautiously to prevent the solution from

going beyond the endpoint because we would need to restart the whole experiments. We
suggest that we should seperate the lab into two days, to try and understand the
experiment on the first day and learn how to use different equipment. We should also used
more accurate tools for titration and finding the target pH that we should reach to
prevent the solution from overgoing the point.

17
Pictures

18
 References

BYJU’s The Learning App. (2019, September 24). Neutralization Reaction - Definition,
Equation, Examples & Applications. Retrieved from
https://byjus.com/chemistry/neutralization-reaction/

Chemistry LibreTexts. (2019, June 23). Titration. Retrieved from

https://chem.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Ancillary_Materials/Demos%2C_Techni
ques2C_and_Experiments/General_Lab_Techniques/Titration

James Highland. (2018, January 10). Where Is Titration Used in Industry?.

Retrieved from
https://sciencing.com/list-5772040-titration-used-industry-.html

Libretexts. (2019, June 5). Neutralization. Retrieved from

https://chem.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Physical_and_Theoretical_Chemistry
Textbook_Maps/Supplemental_Modules_(Physical_and_Theoretical_Chemistry)
/Acids_and_Bases/Acid//Base_Reactions/Neutralization

Foundation, C. K.-12. (n.d.). 12 Foundation. Retrieved from

https://www.ck12.org/book/ck-12-chemistry-intermediate/section/21.4/

Carrying out a Titration. (n.d.). Retrieved from

http://www.digipac.ca/chemical/mtom/contents/chapter4/titration.htm

Helmenstine, A. M. (2019, September 12). What Is a pH Indicator? Retrieved from

https://www.thoughtco.com/definition-of-ph-indicator-605499

Kozlowski, R. (2020, February 16). Why Does Phenolphthalein Change Color? Retrieved
from https://sciencing.com/phenolphthalein-change-color-5271431.html

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