Acid-Base Chemistry
Hands-On Labs, Inc. Version 42-0137-00-03
Lab Report Assistant
This document is not meant to be a substitute for a formal laboratory report. The Lab Report Assistant is simply a summary of the experiment’s questions, diagrams if needed, and data tables that should be addressed in a formal lab report. The intent is to facilitate students’ writing of lab reports by providing this information in an editable file which can be sent to an instructor.
Exercise 1: Using pH Paper and the Indicator Bromothymol Blue (BTB)
Data Table 1. Data Collected from Exercise 1.
ID Number
Chemical Name
Chemical Formula
Hypothesis: Acid or Base
pH
BTB Color
Acid or Base?
11A
Acetic acid
CH3COOH
Acid
pH 2
Yellow
Acid
11B
Nitric acid
HNO3
Acid
pH 3
Yellow
Acid
11C
Sulfuric acid
H2SO4
Acid
pH 3
Yellow
Acid
11D
Phosphoric acid
H3PO4
Acid
pH 2
Yellow
Acid
11E
Sodium acetate
CH3COONa
Base
pH 7
Blue
Base
11F
Sodium bicarbonate
NaHCO3
Acid
pH 8
Blue
Base
11G
Sodium dihydrogen phosphate
NaH2PO4
Base
pH 0
Yellow
Acid
11H
Sodium hydrogen sulfate
NaHSO4
Acid
pH 6
Yellow
Acid
12A
Sodium hydrogen sulfite
NaHSO3
Acid
pH 5
Yellow
Acid
12B
Limewater
Ca(OH)2
Base
pH 9
Blue
Base
12C
Sodium phosphate
Na3PO4
Base
pH 13
Blue
Base
12D
Sodium hydrogen phosphate
Na2HPO4
Base
pH 7
Blue
Base
12E
Ammonium hydroxide
NH4OH
Base
pH 8
Blue
Base
12F
Hydrochloric acid
HCl
Acid
pH 2
Yellow
Acid
12G
Sodium carbonate
Na2CO3
Base
pH 10
Blue
Base
12H
Sodium hydroxide
NaOH
Base
pH 12
Blue
Base
Questions
A. When you created hypotheses to guess whether each chemical was an acid or base, what specifically did you look for in the chemical formulas?
I looked for OH- or H+ in the formula and if it was an H+ than the chemical is most likely acidic and OH- would be basic.
B. What is the value of using pH paper as an indicator?
You could find if it were a weak or strong acid or base by looking at the pH paper. With the pH paper, you would be able to determine the substances pH value number and not just if it’s acidic or basic.
C. What is the value of using BTB as an indicator? When might BTB be a better choice than pH paper?
To figure out the pH value we must add the BTB, green means it's natural, blue is base, and yellow is acidic. It’s useful to do this whenever you want to know if any chemical is acidic or basic.
D. Write the chemical equation of mixing nitric acid (HNO3) with water.
HNO3 (aq)+ H2O(aq) <—>H3O++NO3-
E. Write the chemical equation of mixing ammonia (NH3) with water.
NH3(aq) H2O —>NH4+(aq)+ OH-(aq)
F. What are the conjugate acids and conjugate bases of questions D and E?
The conjugate bases of D and E are NO3-and OH
Exercise 2: Acid-Base Reactions
Data Table 2. Acid-Base Reactions.
Row
1
2
3
4
5
6
A HCl
pH:
11
pH:
10
pH:
10
pH: 9
# drops NaOH:
5
B CH3COOH
pH:
0
pH:
9
pH:
0
pH: 12
# drops NaOH:
6
C C,H2SO4
pH:
6
pH:
9
pH:
11
pH:
14
pH:
13
pH: 12
# drops NaOH:
9
D H3PO4
pH:
2
pH:
5
pH:
6
pH:
6
pH:
12
pH: 7
# drops NaOH:
12
Questions
A. Visually analyze the wells in the plate. What information can be gleaned from each well based on the color of the BTB indicator after each reaction has occurred? How do you know if neutralization has occurred? Cite examples from the well plate reactions to support your answer.
Neutralization has happened when the resulting solution's pH will be less than 7. While looking at the reaction in the wells, you could see the BTB reacting with the chemical the color change can indicate the Neutralization has happed. But I think the most effective way was to use the pH test strip to determine the pH level to see if Neutralization has happed.
B. What factors determine if neutralization occurs during an acid-base reaction?
A neutralization reaction is when an acid and a base react to form water and a salt and involves the combination of H+ ions and OH- ions to generate water. The neutralization of a strong acid and strong base has a pH equal to 7.
C. Is the pH at the equivalence point always equal to 7? Explain your answer based on your experimental observations. Include a discussion of equivalence point pH values for strong versus weak acids.
There is no motivation behind why the pH ought to be seven at the equivalence point except if the acid being titrated is a strong acid, and the base from the Burette is a solid base. On the off chance that you are titration a frail acid with a solid base, the items will be a weak base and an exceptionally weak acid. So, pH will be >7.
D. In all the chemical reaction performed in Exercise 2, neutralization occurs when the pH is neutral (7) or basic (>7). Did any of the reaction not result in a color change of the BTB indicator from yellow (acid) to blue (base)? Explain why neutralization may not have occurred in one or more reactions.
I feel that some the chemicals that were neutralized combined well with the BTB resulting in their chemical reaction to be neutral as it is neither acidic nor alkaline and some did not blend because it may have been a weak acid it does not dissociate fully when it is dissolved.
Exercise 3: Testing the pH of Household Products
Data Table 3. Household Acids and Bases.
Household substance
Prediction:
(Acid, Base, or Neutral)
pH Value
Conclusion:
(Acid, Base, or Neutral)
Coffee w/Cream
Acid
pH 7
Neutral
Soda (Coke)
Acid
pH 3
Acid
Bleach
Base
pH 10
Base
Lysol
Acid
pH 7
Neutral
Isopropyl
Acid
pH 5
Acid
Questions
A. What properties did you use to determine whether the substances you tested were acid or base?
What I used were the pH strips to help me conclude whether the chemical/product I tested was acid or base.
B. Did any of your findings surprise you? Why or why not?
I was surprised by the coffee since the result came out to be neutral. I have always been told that it was acidic due to what it does to your teeth in long-term. But after thinking about it since there was cream in the coffee, it may have canceled the acidity in the coffee that would have made it an acid. Another one that I was surprised with was the Lysol since it is a cleaner, I thought it would be acidic to be able to clean thoroughly and remove all the grams.
My Findings
After working on this lab, I learned that not all things that you have been told might be correct for instance when I did the test on the coffee with cream it did not come out to be acidic. After thinking about it, I came up with a hypothesis that I wanted to test to see if I was correct and to my findings, I was right. So, I knew that the coffee I tested was not acidic with the cream. I took it upon myself to test another coffee without the cream, and the result was that black coffee is more acidic, I used a pH strip to check the coffee, and the result was a pH leave of 5 making it acidic. In conclusion, if you would like a coffee with less acidity add some cream to cancel it out.