Chemistry Internal Assessment

Enthalpy of Neutralization

Research Question/Aim: To determine the enthalpy of neutralization of the reaction between

HCl and NH4OH.

Introduction
“Neutralization reactions play a major role in day to day life. Ammonium chloride helps
maintain pH and exerts a mild diuretic effect. This acid forming salt also exerts an expectorant
effect by irritating the mucous membranes and is used for alleviation of cough.” ("Ammonium
Chloride") “Hydrochloric acid, solution is a colorless watery liquid with a sharp, irritating odor.
Consists of hydrogen chloride, a gas, dissolved in water Sinks and mixes with water. Produces
irritating vapor. It is used in the production of chlorides, fertilizers, and dyes, in electroplating,
and in the photographic, textile, and rubber industries. Hydrochloric acid is corrosive to the eyes,
skin, and mucous membranes.” ("Hydrochloric Acid") Ammonium hydroxide, also known as
aqueous ammonia or liquid ammonia, is a weak base that is mainly used in manufacturing of
plastics, rubber, fertilizers, and textiles.

Background Research
Enthalpy is a thermodynamic function of a system. It represents change in thermal energy.
Generally, change in enthalpy is calculated rather than enthalpy, since total enthalpy of a system
cannot be measured, as it is impossible to know the zero point. Measuring the change in enthalpy
helps determine if a reaction is endothermic or exothermic.

Endothermic reactions are those in which the system absorbs heat from the surroundings. Thus,
the change in enthalpy is positive since the products are at a higher temperature and less
energetically stable than the reactants. Exothermic reactions are those in which the system
releases heat into the surroundings. Thus, the change in enthalpy is negative since the products
are at a lower temperature and more energetically stable than the reactants.

Enthalpy of Neutralization is the change in enthalpy in a neutralization reaction of an acid and a

base of equal amounts, which occurs under standard conditions of temperature of 298 K and
pressure of 100 kPa to form water and salt as the products. Enthalpy of Neutralization is also
defined as the energy released with the formation of one mole of water. Neutralization reaction is
an exothermic reaction.

The Neutralization reaction is as follows:

Eq. 1 HCl(aq) + NH4OH(aq) → NH4Cl(aq) + H2O(l) + Q

The above chemical equation represents the reaction between HCl, a strong acid, and NH4OH, a
weak base. + Q represents the release of energy in the form of heat, which implies that this is an
exothermic reaction. In an exothermic reaction, the enthalpy change is always negative.

The neutralization experiment carried out can be represented through the dissociation of ions as
follows.
Eq. 2 H+(aq) + Cl−(aq) + NH4+(aq) + OH−(aq) → NH4+(aq) + Cl−(aq) + H2O(l)

In the molecule HCl, there exists a strong electrostatic forces between the H+ and Cl− ions that
needs to be broken down using energy. This energy is absorbed from the surroundings in the
form of heat. In the molecule NH4OH, there exists a covalent bond between the NH4+ and OH−
which again requires hat energy from the environment to be broken down. Thus, this process
increases the temperature of the reactants by a small margin. Once the bonds are broken down
and the ions are completely independent, there is a massive amount of heat energy released when
the dissociated ions form bonds with each other.

The formula to calculate Enthalpy change is as follows:

𝑚𝐶∆𝑇
Eq. 3 ∆Hn =
𝑛

Where,
∆Hn = Enthalpy change of neutralization
m = total mass of reactants
C = specific heat capacity of water
∆T = Change in temperature
n = no. of moles of limiting reactant

Assumptions:
➢ No heat loss from the system to the environment
➢ All the heat produced is transferred to the water
➢ The product contains completely water
Materials Required
➢ Known concentration and volume of HCl
➢ Known concentration and volume of NH4OH
➢ 2 – 500 ml beakers (±1 ml)
➢ Burette
➢ Burette clamp
➢ Ring stand
➢ Distilled water
➢ Polystyrene cup
➢ 25 ml measuring cylinder (±1 ml)
➢ PASCO Electronic Thermometer (±0.1 ml)
➢ Funnel

Procedure
1. Pour the HCl into the burette completely until the 50cm3 is reached.
2. Fix the burette to the burette clamps and the ring stand.
3. Take 20 ml of NH4OH in the Styrofoam cup and place it below the burette with tip of the
burette just above the cup.
4. place the thermometer in the cup.
5. Once the temperature stabilizes, record thee initial temperature of the solution.
6. Open the burette until 20 ml flows into the cup.
7. When the acid is flowing into the cup, simultaneously keep moving the cup in order to mix
the contents well.
8. After 20 ml of acid has reacted with 20 ml of base, record the final temperature of the solution
in the cup.
9. The empty the cup contents and repeat the above procedure.

Safety Measures
Several potential safety risks are associated with the handling of corrosive HCl acid and Base
NH4OH. Potential safety hazards stem from the misuse and uninformed handling of the reactants
as well as spillage of the reactants. Additionally, personal protective equipment such as safety
glasses and gloves must be used when handling these materials.
Data Collection and Analysis
Qualitative Data:
The reactants HCl and NH4OH are both clear colorless solutions in their aqueous state.
Once both react together in the cup, there is a quite a lot of heat evolved that leads to a
rise in the temperature of the surroundings. The products NH4OH and H2O are in a
combined mixture to form a clear colorless solution.
Quantitative Data:
Raw Data:
Trial Initial Temperature / ᵒC Uncertainty / ᵒC Final Temperature / ᵒC Uncertainty / ᵒC
1 23.8 ± 0.1 24.0 ± 0.1
2 23.2 ± 0.1 23.9 ± 0.1
3 23.0 ± 0.1 23.5 ± 0.1
4 21.4 ± 0.1 22.0 ± 0.1
5 21.6 ± 0.1 22.2 ± 0.1
Table 1 : Temperature Changes

Processed Data:
Change in Temperature ∆T = Final Temperature – Initial Temperature

Volume of HCl = 20.0 ml ±0.01 ml

Volume of NH4OH = 20.0 ml ±0.01 ml

Total mass = 40.0 g ±0.02 ml

* Specific heat capacity = 4.18 J g-1 °C-1
* Note - Since all of the solutions are dilute aqueous solutions, the specific heat capacity of each
solution and hence the specific heat capacity of the final solution is the same as water which is
4.18 J g-1 °C-1
Eq. 4 n = CV
Where,
n = no. of moles of substance (mol)
C = Concentration of substance (mol/dm3)
V = Volume of substance (dm3)

No. of moles of HCl = 0.1 x 0.02 = 0.002 mol

No. of moles of NH4OH = 0.5 x 0.02 = 0.01 mol
S.No Change in Uncertainty Mass Uncertainty moles of Enthalpy of Uncertainty %
Temperature (ᵒC) (g) (g) HCl Neutralization (kJmol-1) Uncertainty
∆T (ᵒC) (mol.) ∆H (kJmol-1)
1 0.2 ± 0.2 40 ± 0.2 0.002 16.7 ± 0.4 2.4
2 0.7 ± 0.2 40 ± 0.2 0.002 58.5 ± 0.4 0.68
3 0.5 ± 0.2 40 ± 0.2 0.002 41.8 ± 0.4 0.96
4 0.6 ± 0.2 40 ± 0.2 0.002 50.2 ± 0.4 0.80
5 0.6 ± 0.2 40 ± 0.2 0.002 50.2 ± 0.4 0.80
RESULT: Mean Enthalpy of Neutralization ∆H = - 50.2 ± 0.4 kJmol-1
Table 2 : Calculation of Enthalpy of Heat

0.4
% uncertainty of Mean Enthalpy = x 100% = 0.80%
50.2

The literature value of Enthalpy of neutralization is - 57.1 kJmol-1

− 50.2−(−57.1)
% Error of Mean Enthalpy = | | x 100% = 12 %
− 57.1

% Uncertainty of the Result shows the random errors of the experiment. % Error of the Result
shows the systematic errors of the experiment. 0.80% uncertainty is relatively small, which
indicates that there have been less random errors in the experiment. 12% error shows that there
are more systematic errors in the experiment when compared to the random errors.

Conclusion and Evaluation

There is a relatively higher % error when compared to the % uncertainty. This shows that there
are more random errors in the experiment than systematic errors. Possible random errors include
parallax errors while recording the volume of the reactants. This error could be avoided by
measuring the volume of the reactants by looking straight at the point of lower meniscus.
Another possible method to avoid this error is to take numerous trials in order to eliminate the
random error. There are many possible errors in the experiment. One of them is not insulating the
experimental set-up. This can lead to the heat escaping into the environment, thereby the
thermometer records the incorrect temperature. This error can be corrected by completely
insulting the experimental set-up using good insulators such as plastic lid or wooden lid.
Moreover, using 2 Styrofoam cups, one inside the other, can help prevent further heat loss due to
the extra insulation.
In extension to this experiment, different concentrations of the acid, HCl and base, NH4OH can
be used to verify if the enthalpy of neutralization remains constant.
Citations
➢ National Center for Biotechnology Information. "PubChem Compound Summary for CID
25517, Ammonium
chloride" PubChem, https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Ammonium-chloride.
Accessed 31 May 2021.

➢ National Center for Biotechnology Information. "PubChem Compound Summary for CID
313, Hydrochloric
acid" PubChem, https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Hydrochloric-acid. Accessed
31 May 2021.

References
➢ https://byjus.com/chemistry/nh4oh-ammonium-
hydroxide/#:~:text=Ammonium%20hydroxide%20(NH4OH)%20is%20an,%2Dto%2Dfaint%
20ammonia%20scent.