PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY

COURSE CODE : CHM 270

EXPERIMENTAL NUMBER AND TITLE :
EXPERIMENT 1: pH DETERMINATION OF ACID, BASE AND BUFFER
SOLUTIONS

STUDENTS NAME :
HASNI BINTI ABDUL RAHIM

MATRIC NUMBER :
2015846218

NAME OF LABORATORY PARTNER :

NUR ASMA ALIAH BINTI AHMAD RADZI
NUR FARHANA BINTI MOHD ZUKI

LECTURERS NAME :
MADAM NOR AZIRA IRMA MUHAMMAD

DATE OF PERFORMED EXPERIMENT :

8 JANUARY 2016

DATE OF REPORT SUBMISSION :

15 JANUARY 2016

GROUP :
RAS1202F

OBJECTIVE

To measure the pH of solutions using universal indicator or pH paper.

INTRODUCTION

Some of acids and base is necessary in order to carry out our daily life, but
not too forgetten some of that may be harmful to us likes strong acid and strong
base.

The easiest way to determine whether a substance is an acidic or base is by

using an indicator, an organic molecule that changes colour when dipped in an
acid or a base. When an indicator is placed on paper, it provides a fast way to
determine if a substance has acidic or basic properties. A pH paper that consists
of strips of filter paper which have been soaked in a indicator. A drop of
unknown solution can be placed on the pH paper , and the resulting colour is
compared to a chart. By matching the colour of the paper to a colour on the
chart, the pH of the solution can be determined. The strength of an acid is
measured in Ph, which is the concentration of the hydrogen ion (H+). A high pH
indicates a strong bases, while a low pH indicates a strong acid. A pH of 7
indicates a neutral substance (like water).
The pHscale is used to measure the acidity and basicity of solution.
pH = - log10 [H+]
In order to determine the pH of the solution, a universal indicator could be used
in which the solution containing the indicator would give a coloured solution
that depend on the concentration of H+ ion present in the solution. The pH of the
solution could then be determined by comparing the colour of the solution with
the colour on the pH chart.

APPARATUS

Test tubes
Measuring cylinder of 10 mL and 100 Ml

CHEMICALS

0.1M NaOH
0.05 M Na2CO3
0.1 M HC1
0.1 M NH4C1
0.1 M A1C13
0.1 M HNO3
0.1 M CH3COOH
0.1 M NaC1
0.1 M CH3COONa
Universal indicator or pH paper

PROCEDURE

Part I : pH Determination of Solutions

1. 5 mL each of the solution was measured and placed each of them in a test
tube. Two drops of the universal indicator was added to each solution and
shaken well or dip the solution with a pH paper.
(a) Distilled water
(b) Tap water
(c) 0.1 M Naoh
(d) 0.05 M Na2CO3
(e) 0.1 M NH4OH
(f) 0.1 M HC1
(g) 0.1 M HNO3
(h) 0.1 M CH3COOH
(i) 0.1 M NaC1
(j) 0.1 M CH3COONa
(k) 0.1 M NH4C1
(l) 0.1 M A1C13
2. The pHof each solution tested was determined by comparing their colours
with the pH colour chart given by the label on the bottle. As for the pH
paper, the colour of the pH paper was compared with the pH colour chart
on the label of the box.
3. The observations was recorded Table 1.1.

Part II : pH Determination of Buffer Solutions

1. 25 mL of 0.1 M ethanoic acid, CH3COOH was added with 25 mL 0.1 M
solution of sodium acetate, CH3COONa in a beaker. Then, three drops of
universal indicator was added and shaken the beaker well or the solution

was dipped with a pH paper. The colour of the solution was recorded(if
you are using universal indicator ) and the pH of this buffer solution.
2. The buffer solutions was divided into two equal portions:
To one of the portion :
(a) 1 mL 0.1 M HC1was added. The pH was recorded using universal
indicator or pH paper.
(b) Add another 4 mL 0.1 M HC1. The pH was recorded using universal
indicator or pH paper.
To the second portion :
(a)1 mL 0.1 M NaOH was added. The pH was recorded using universal
indicator or pH paper.
(b) Add another 4 mL 0.1 M NaOH. The pH was recorded using
universal indicator or pH paper.
3. The observations was recorded in Table 1.2.

QUESTIONS

1. State whether the following solutions is acidic , basic or neutral and

explain your answer .

0.5 M Na2CO3
The solution is basic. This is because when we dipped the solution with a
pH paper and compared the colour of the pH paper with the pH colour
chart on the label of the box, the pH is 11. Since that, Na2CO3 is strong
bases.
0.1 M CH3COONa
The solution is basic. This is because when we dipped the solution with a
pH paper and compared the colour of the pH paper with the pH colour
chart on the label of the box, the pH is 8. Since that, it is a basic salt, it is
a salt of a weak acid CH3COOH and a strong base NaOH.

0.1 M A1C13
The solution is acidic. This is because when we dipped the solution with a
pH paper and compared the colour of the pH paper with the pH colour
chart on the label of the box, the pH is 5. Since that, it is a weak acid.

2. Explain your observations in procedure (part II) in terms of the effect of

addition of a strong acid and a strong base to the buffer solution.
A buffer solution is an aqueous solution consisting of a mixture of a weak
acid and its conjugate base or a weak base and its conjugate acid. It has
the property that the pH of the solution changes very little when a small
amount of strong acid or base is added to it.

In this experiment, at first we prepare the buffer by adding 25 mL of 0.1

M ethanoic acid with 25 mL 0.1 M solution of sodium acetate.The
solution is divided to two beaker.
First beaker, we add 1 mL 0.1 M into the buffer and the pH is 3. Next,
we added 4 mL of 0.1 M HC1into the buffer and the pH turn to 2. HC1 is
a strong acid, when some strong acid is added to an equilibrium mixture
of the weak acid and its conjugate base, the equilibrium is shifted to the
left, in accordance with Le Chatelier's principle. Because of this, the
hydrogen ion concentration increases by less than the amount expected
for the quantity of strong acid added.
The second beaker, buffer solution is added with 1 mL of NaOH which is
strong base, the pH shown 4. Then, added 4 mL of 0.1 M NaOh and pH
shown is 6, NaOH is a strong base. When strong base is added to the
mixture the hydrogen ion concentration decreases by less than the amount
expected for the quantity of base added.
Buffer solutions achieve their resistance to pH change because of the
presence of an equilibrium between the acid HA and its conjugate base
A-.
HA is in equilibrium with H+ + A-

DISCUSSION

We can determine whether a substance is an acidic or base is by using an

indicator or pH value. When using the pH paper we need to compared the
colour of the pH paper with the pH colour chart on the label of the box to get
the accurate pH of the solutions. This is better than we use universal indicator,
because the colour of the solution not changes obviously.

The lowest the pH the stronger the acid, while the higher the pH the stronger the
base. Acids are substances, which react with water to produce hydronium ions,
H3O+. There are two types of acids:
Strong acids such as HCl and HNO3 react essentially completely with water to
produce hydronium ions.Weak acids such as CH3COOH and carbonic acid,
H2CO3, only a small fraction of the molecules produce hydronium ions.
Likewise with bases, there are two types of bases:
Strong bases such as NaOH and KOH react essentially completely with water to
produce hydroxide, OH- ions.Weak bases such as NH4OH, only a small fraction
of the molecules produce hydroxide, OH- ions.
Buffers are solutions which resist pH changes when small quantities of acid or
base are added to them. Buffers are made by mixing weak acids and their salts.
For example, a buffer can be prepared by dissolving CH3COONa in
CH3COOH solution. Likewise, buffers are made by mixing weak bases and
their salts.
When using universal indicator to test the solution, the solution change colour at
certain pH values. To improve result, when observing the colour of solution
after drop the indicator, placed a white paper behide the test tube to make us
easier to identify the colour changes of the solution. Then, when using the pH
paper we need to compared the colour of the pH paper with the pH colour chart
on the label of the box . Make sure our eyes compared the pH paper correctly
with the pH colour chart to get the accurate pH of the solutions.

CONCLUSION
We able to measure the pH of solutions using universal indicator or pH paper.
When the lowest the pH the stronger the acid, while the higher the pH the
stronger the base.

REFERENCE
https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20110507020943AAClSgN12/1/2016
https://www.scribd.com/doc/110272037/Preparation-of-Buffer-Solutions12/1/2016
https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080218003659AApcevf12/1/2016