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.