Lab #4

Date: 17/02/2021

Title: Determination of the concentration of Hydrogen peroxide in a stock solution

Aim: To determine the concentration of hydrogen peroxide in a stock solution.

Apparatus: beakers, measuring cylinder, burette, pipette, pipette filler, graduated

flask, conical flask, retort stand, funnel, white tile.

Materials: distilled water, 0.02moldm-3 KMnO4 (aq), 0.3 moldm-3 stock H2O2 (aq) ,1
moldm-3 H2SO4 (aq)

Procedure:

1. 32cm3 of H2O2(aq) was measured and placed in a 250cm3 graduated flask

using a burette. The contents of the flask was filled up to the mark with
distilled water and thoroughly mixed.
2. 50cm3 KMnO4(aq) was placed into a second burette.
3. 25cm3 of dilute H2O2(aq) was pipetted into a second conical flask where 10cm3
of dilute H2SO4(aq) was added.
4. The contents of the conical flask was titrated by adding KMnO4(aq) . 5. The
experiment was repeated 3 times and all results obtained were recorded.
Diagram:

Diagram showing the setup of apparatus used for the titration of Dilute H2O2 (aq)
with KMnO4 (aq),.
Table of Results:

Table showing the results obtained from the dilution of H2O2(aq)

Final burette reading / cm3 50.0

Initial burette reading / cm3 18.0

Volume of H2O2 (aq) / cm3 32.0

Table showing the titration results of diluted H2O2 with KMnO4

ACCURATE READING:
ROUGH 1 2 3
Final Burette Reading / cm3 25.9 26.2 26.3 26.1
Initial Burette Reading / cm3 0.5 0.0 0.0 0.0
Volume of KMnO4 (aq) / cm3 25.4 26.2 26.3 26.1

Calculations:
Discussion/Theory-

A titration is a quantitative chemical analysis technique which is used to determine

the unknown concentration of a reagent using a known concentration. This process
involves gradually adding one substance of a known concentration to a known
volume of unknown concentration of the reagent, until a point of neutralization is
reached. This point of neutralization is usually determined by a colour change. A
titration can also be defined as a method used to determine the amount of
substance present in either an acid or an alkali. During acid-base titrations, an acid
is gradually added to the alkali until it has been neutralised, which is indicated by
an acid-base indicator.

The titre value is obtained when the colour change is seen in the system, i.e, when
the end point/neutralisation point has been reached. The start volume is read from
the burette before the titration is started and then at the end point, the final volume
is read again, therefore the value of the acid used is the final volume minus the
starting/initial volume. The first value recorded, is considered to be the “rough”
value and three more values, known as the “accurate values” are obtained by
repeating the experiments, however these values should not differ by more than
0.1 cm3. The titre value is then used to determine the unknown concentration of the
substance. Firstly, the average titre value is calculated by using the “rough” and
“accurate” values. Secondly, a balanced equation for the reaction is used to find the
mole ratio between the reactants. Thirdly, the number of moles of the known
reactant are calculated and are then used to calculate the number of moles of the
unknown concentration, using the mole ratio. Lastly, the number of moles of the
unknown concentrated substance is used to calculate the concentration of the
substance by dividing the number of moles by the volume of solution. The
concentration is now known for the reagent, and the titration has been completed.

A redox titration is one which involves the determination of the concentration of a

substance by causing a redox reaction between the titrant(the substance being
added in the titration) and the analyte (the substance which is being measured or
analyzed). This means that an oxidation-reduction reaction occurs between the
titrant and the analyte and the unknown concentration can be determined. In the
experiment conducted, the powerful oxidizing agent, potassium permanganate was
used. Potassium permanganate is a powerful oxidizing agent which is purple in
colour. When the KMnO4, (potassium permanganate) was being added to the
H2O2 at first, it was being turned colourless as it was being reduced to Mn2+ ions,
however as the reaction came closer a pale pink colour could be seen. This
indicated that there was enough KMno4 being reduced and that enough was being
reacted, hence the reaction has come to a stop. Therefore, during this experiment,
the KMnO4 was reduced while the H2O2 was oxidized, hence a redox (oxidation-
reduction) reaction occurred and the titre value can be found and used to calculate
the concentration of the unknown concentrated substance.

The equation for this reaction is shown below:

2MnO4 (aq) + 8H+ + 5e-  4H2O + Mn2+(aq) *2 (reduction)

O- (aq) - 2e-  6O2(g) *5 (oxidation)

Final equation:

2KMnO4(aq) + 5H2O2(aq) +3H2SO4(aq)  2 MnSO4(aq) + 5O2(g) + 8H2O(l) + K2SO4(aq)

Precautions:

1. All apparatus was washed properly before use to ensure that no cross
contamination occurred.
2. All measurements were measured at eye level to ensure accuracy.
3. Left hand was used to control the switch on the burette, while the right hand
was used to swirl the contents in the conical flask during the titration. This
allowed for greater control of the addition of the KMnO4.
4. A white tile was used to properly observe the colour changes.
Sources of error:

1. KMnO4 contained impurities which could have interfered with the final
results.
2. A transcriptional error occurred as the results were incorrectly recorded
in the table of results, however this was quickly corrected.
3. Reaction time occurred when determining the point at which the colour
changed.
4. Colour change in conical flask was subjective.

Assumptions:

1. Distilled water contained no impurities.

Reflection:

During this experiment I learnt how to properly carry out a titration by using the
apparatus correctly. This lab aided me in further understanding why titrations are
executed and how the concentrations and number of moles of substances can be
calculated.

Titrations are used in many industries including the food industry. This technique
is used to determine the amount of a substance in a food sample. For example, a
titration can be done to determine how much salt or vitamin E is in a particular
sample of food. This allows companies and industries to progress in the creation of
new food products or healthier products.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, the concentration of Hydrogen Peroxide in a stock solution was

found to be 0.39moldm-3.