1.

ABSTRACT

An acid is a molecule or ion capable to donate a proton [H+]. Basically, acid can be
distinguished by two types that is strong acid and weak acid. Reaction of acid can be
generalized as HA H+ + A-, where HA are representing the acid and A- is the conjugate base.
This reaction is known as protolysis. The aim of the experiment is to determine the Ka value of
an unknown weak acid by titration of base solution to unknown weak acid. This experiment
was conducted by using titration process of the 0.1M of Sodium Hydroxide (NaOH) with an
unknown acid that have been prepared by lab assistant. Two methods have been used in this
experiment, first method used to determine the Ka by using the tabulated graph of titration of
unknown acid (volume of NaOH vs pH value). Value of Ka for this method used can be
determined from the half-equivalence point on the graph. The other method used was an ICE
(Initial, Change, Equilibrium). The calculation makes use of the initial pH of the unknown acid
solution which were determined. ICE method results show 8.11% percentage error compare
with the method used from tabulated graph which is 50.16 % percentage error. With the average
Ka value of 5.789 x 10-5, we can conclude that Benzoic Acid is an unknown acid in this
experiment.

1
2. INTRODUCTION

We are given 10 ml of an unknown acid solutions and required to determine the acid ionization
constants, Ka of weak acid solutions we are also required to identify the unknown weak acid
solutions from the calculated Ka values obtained during the experiment. Acid ionization
constants, Ka is a quantitative measure of the strength of an acid in solution. It is the equilibrium
constant for a chemical reaction known as dissociation in the context of acidbase reactions.
In aqueous solution, the equilibrium of acid dissociation can be written symbolically as:

HA+H2OH3O+ + A- (Equation 1)

where HA is a generic acid that dissociates into A

The prediction of Ka value plays a vital role in chemistry especially in life and material
sciences, pharmaceutical industry and other R&D oriented enterprises.

The equation for Ka is the following:

[30+][]
Ka = (Equation 2)
[]

In this experiment, titration was used to determine the value of acid ionization constant, Ka of
an unknown acid solution. The titration is performed by slowly adding the 0.1 M Sodium
Hydroxide to the unknown acidic solution. One is placed in a burette and the other one which
is to be titrated is placed in a beaker and is placed below the mouth of the burette until an
equivalence point is reached. The equivalence point is represented by some distinct physical
change in the solution; In this experiment we notice that as base is added, the pH rises very
slowly at first, then begins to rise more sharply approaching the equivalence point.

After getting all the data needed, titration curves were plotted. Titration curve is a graph of
measured pH values obtained from pH meter readings versus volume of titrant being added.
The point at which the acid and base have exactly neutralized one another is called the
equivalence point. The pH at the equivalence point is not exactly equal to 7, but at that point
the number of moles of H+ will equal the number of moles of OH- added. The equation for the
neutralization reaction is

HA(aq) + NaOH(aq) = NaA(aq) + H2O(l) (Equation 3)

2
In this experiment, the volume of base needed to get halfway to the equivalence point is called
the half-equivalence point, at this point, half of the acid has been titrated and hence half of the
acid, HA, has had its H+1 removed and is now A-1. Therefore [HA] = [A-1]. So, now equation
(2) can be reduces to a simpler expression;

Ka = [H3O+1] or pKa = pH (Equation 4)

To determine the pKa of a weak acid, we need only to locate this half-equivalence point
accurately, and this can be done by first finding the equivalence point on the titration curve and
divide it by 2. We determined the pKa for unknown weak acid directly from the titration curve.
From the pKa achieved it then allows us to identify the unknown acid from a list of possible
acids.

Another method is using pH equation. The number of moles of NaOH present at the
equivalence point is equal to the number of moles of acid present initially. pH is often estimated
using free proton or hydronium concentration, the equation for pH is as follows;

pH= log [H3O+] or pH = -log [H] (Equation 5)

To solve for the concentration of H3O+ we use the equation for pH;

[H3O+] = 10 PH (Equation 6)

Calculate the concentration of hydrogen ions with the formula [H+] = 1/(10^pH). The units for
concentration are moles per litre.

3. OBJECTIVE

a) To determine the Ka value of an unknown weak acid by titration of base solution to

unknown weak acid.
b) To identify the name of the weak acid used in this experiment.

3
4. THEORY

In this titration process, a burette was used to dispense a small, quantifiable increment of
solution of unknown weak acid. A typical burette has the smallest calibration unit of 0.1mL,
therefore, volume dispense from the burette should be estimated to the nearest 0.01mL.
Theoretically, equivalent point is reached when enough titrant has been added to the analyte to
just exactly neutralize the analyte. This titration process also has reached an equivalence point
when the pH of the solution measured was sudden changed. In the experiment, knowledge of
the equivalent point will be used to obtain information about the acid dissociation constant, Ka,
of the acid being titrated.

A Bronsted-Lowry acid is a substance which will donate a proton (H+) ion aqueous solution
to another substance. Similarly, a Bronsted-Lowry base is a substance which capable of
accepting a proton from another substance in aqueous solution. Then a Bronsted-Lowry acid
base reaction involving a transfer or proton from Bronsted-Lowry acid to a Bronsted-Lowry
base. Then, acid can be classified as monoprotic acid, diprotic acid and triprotic acid.
Monoprotic acid is just only one ionizable or transferable of hydrogen ion (H+) such as nitric
acid (HNO3) and hydrochloric acid (HCl), while diprotic acid has two ionizable hydrogen ion
(H+) per molecule of acid such as oxalic acid (H2C2O4) and sulphuric acid (H2SO4).

Acid also can be classified as weak and strong acid. A strong acid is one which dissociates
completely into its constituent ions in aqueous solution, while a weak acid is one which only
partially ionizes into ions in aqueous solution. In this experiment, we want to determine the
value of Ka of an unknown weak acid. Weak acid is incompletely dissociated in solution.
Representing a generic weak acid with the formula HA, so we can write an equation for the
dissociation of the weak acid:

HA(aq) + H2O(l) H3O+(aq) + A-(aq) (Equation 7)

The acid equilibrium constant for this reaction, Ka, is defined by the equation:

[3+][] (Equation 8)
Ka =
[]

4
Basically, weak acid only partially dissociate, ionizes in water to produce H+ ions and an
anion that characteristic of the acid. A weak acid, the equilibrium constant for the reaction is
small between 10-2 and 10-7, so that the concentration of [H3O+] and hence the pH is
governed by the Ka.

For dissociation of any weak acid, HA:

HA(aq) + H2O(l) H3O+(aq) + A-(aq) (Equation 9)

There is an acid dissociation constant, Ka:

[3+][] (Equation 10)

Ka =
[]

Then, can be arranged to solve for [H+]:

[] (Equation 11)
[H+] =
[]

Using definition of pH, this equation can be arranged as follows:

[]
pH = -log[H3O+] = -log Ka -log( ) , or (Equation 12)
[]

[] (Equation 13)
pH = p Ka + log ( )
[]

5
5. MATERIALS AND APPARATUS

MATERIALS

0.1 M sodium hydroxide solution

10 mL of 0.1 M unknown acid solution
Distilled water

APPARATUS

250 mL beakers
pH meter
Burette and it stand
Stopcock
Stirrer rod
Air displacement pipette
Measuring cylinder

Figure 1 : The set up apparatus for the titration process

6
6. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES

PART ONE: Titration Method

1. The burette was rinsed with distilled water.

2. 0.1M of sodium hydroxide solution (NaOH) is used as a titrant. Small amount of
sodium hydroxide solution was poured into the burette and drained into a waste beaker
to remove the presence of air bubbles from the tip of the burette and stopcock.
3. The burette is then filled with the sodium hydroxide solution. The sodium hydroxide
solution was poured up to 0.0mL line or below.
4. 10mL of 0.1M unknown acid and 40mL of distilled water was mix.
5. 50mL of 0.1M unknown acid was placed into a beaker.
6. The initial burette reading was recorded.
7. The initial pH reading of the unknown acid was recorded. Placed the unknown acid in
the beaker at the bottom of the tip of the burette and adjusted the burette at the right
position so that the acid solution can be titrated correctly.
8. The unknown acid solution was titrated with the NaOH solution.
9. The pH value of the unknown acid was recorded for every 1mL drop of NaOH solution.
10. Added the NaOH solution until the pH value of unknown acid reached the basic region
and being constant.
11. Steps 1 until 10 have been repeated in Trial 2 to get an average reading.

PART TWO: pH value method

1. 50 mL of unknown acid was placed in a beaker.

2. The pH value for the solution was measured using a pH meter until it has reached a
constant value.
3. The pH value is then recorded.
4. The steps were repeated for the second experiment.

7
7. RESULTS AND CALCULATIONS

7.1 Data of Titration unknown acid Trial 1 and Titration unknown acid Trial 2

Volume of NaOH(ml) pH value (1) Volume of NaOH(ml) pH value (2)

0.0 3.97 0.0 3.98
1.0 4.32 0.5 4.11
2.0 4.57 1.0 4.25
3.0 4.79 1.5 4.36
4.0 4.95 2.0 4.51
5.0 5.16 2.5 4.62
6.0 5.38 3.0 4.70
7.0 5.63 3.5 4.84
8.0 5.99 4.0 4.92
9.0 6.96 4.5 5.01
10.0 10.86 5.0 5.09
11.0 11.16 5.5 5.20
12.0 11.33 6.0 5.27
12.5 11.37 6.5 5.35
13.0 11.42 7.0 5.45
13.5 11.46 7.5 5.54
14.0 11.47 8.0 5.69
14.5 11.50 8.3 5.84
15.0 11.54 8.6 5.93
8.9 6.05

9.2 6.26

9.5 6.64

9.8 8.44

10.1 10.36

10.4 10.67

10.7 10.85

11.0 10.98

11.5 11.14

12.0 11.21

8
 14
Titration of Unknown Acid Trial 1

12
9.5ml
10

8
pH value

Half Equivalence point

6

0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16
Volume of NaOH (ml)

Figure 2 shows the data plotted for Titration of Unknown Acid using
NaOH Trial 1

Titration of Unknown Acid Trial 2

12

10 9.8 ml

8
Volume of NaOH

6 Half Equivalence point

0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14
pH Value

Figure 3 shows the data plotted for Titration of Unknown Acid using
NaOH Trial 2

9
7.2 Calculation of Ka by Using Equivalence point

Unknown Acid Trial 1 Unknown Acid Trial 2 Average

Equivalence Point (mL) 9.5 9.8

Half Equivalence Point 4.75 4.9

(mL)

8.9715 10-6
pH at Half Equivalence 5.1 5.0
Point

Ka 7.94310-6 1.00010-5

Unknown Acid Trial 1 Unknown Acid Trial 2

Equivalence point = 9.5 ml Equivalence point = 9.8 ml
Half Equivalence point = 4.75 Half Equivalence point = 4.9
pH at Half Equivalence point = 5.10 pH at Half Equivalence point = 5.0
pH = pKa pH = pKa
5.10 = pKa 5.00 = pKa
10(-5.10) = Ka 10(-5.00) = Ka
Ka = 7.943 x 10-6 Ka = 1.000 x 10-5

(7.943 106 )+(1.000 105 )

Average Ka = = 8.9715 x 10-6
2
(1.8 105 )(8.9715 106 )
Percent Error (%) = X 100% = 50.16 %
(1.8 105 )

By comparing the average value of Ka with Appendix A, we can see that the value of Ka
calculated, 8.9715 x 10-6 is close to the Ka value of Ethanoic Acid which is 1.8 x 10-5 with up
to 50.16 % percentage error.

10
7.3 Calculation of Ka value by using ICE table

10 mL of unknown weak acid solution was used.

1 0.1
10 mL unknown solution 1000 1 = 0.001 M of unknown Solution

Dilution of unknown solution with 40 mL of Distilled Water.

M1V1=M2V2

(0.001M) (10 mL) = M2 (40 mL)

M2 = 0.0003M (Initial Concentration)

pH value used were pH at the initial point (3.97 for trial 1 and 3.98 for trial 2)

Trial 1

[HA] + [H2O] [H3O + ] + [A - ]

ICE [HA] [H3O+] [A-]

INITIAL 0.0003M 0 0
CHANGES -X +X +X
EQUILIBRIUM 0.0003M-X +X +X

According to the definition of pH,

X = [H3O+]

Log[H3O+] = -pH = -3.97

[H3O+] = 10(-3.97) = 1.072 x 10-4 = X

[3+ ][ ] 2 (1.072 104 )2

Ka =
[]
= 0.0003 = 0.0003(1.072 104 ) =

Ka = 5.964 x 10-5

11
Trial 2

[HA] + [H2O] [H3O + ] + [A - ]

ICE [HA] [H3O+] [A-]

INITIAL 0.0003M 0 0
CHANGES -X +X +X
EQUILIBRIUM 0.0003M-X +X +X

According to the definition of pH,

X = [H3O+]

Log[H3O+] = -pH = -3.98

[H3O+] = 10(-3.98) = 1.047 x 10-4 = X

[3+ ][ ] 2 (1.047 104 )2

Ka =
[]
= 0.0003 = 0.0003(1.047 104 ) =

Ka = 5.613 x 10-5

(5.964 x 10^5)+(5.613 x 10^5)

Average Ka = = 5.789 x 10-5
2
(6.3 x 10^5)( 5.789 10^5)
Percent Error (%) = X 100% = 8.11%
(6.3 x 10^5)

By comparing the average value of Ka with Appendix A, we can see that the average value of
Ka calculated, 5.789 x 10-5 is close to the Ka value of Benzoic Acid which is 6.3 x 10-5 with up
to 8.11% percentage error.

12
8. DISCUSSIONS

The purposes of this experiment were to identify an unknown weak acid by titration 10 mL of
unknown acid with a standard 0.1 M sodium hydroxide, NaOH solution from the initial
concentration and pH of weak acid solution. The pH of the titration solution was measured
using pH meter.

There were two methods of determining the unknown acid. The first method was by
titrating the unknown acid solution with NaOH which the volume of NaOH required in order
to neutralize the unknown solution. The data was recorded and tabulated and a graph of pH
value versus volume NaOH added was constructed (Figure 2 and Figure 3). The equivalence
point of a titration occurs when chemically equivalent amounts of acid and base was achieved.
At this point, the pH changed rapidly with a small addition of acid or base. The equivalence
point was taken from the midpoint of the tangent line of the curve where sudden increases of
pH occurs. In this experiment, once the equivalence point was known, the volume of NaOH
can be determined. The graph showed that in every titration, the pH of the unknown solution
was increased when the volume of NaOH added increased. For method 1, the amount of half
equivalence point is needed to determine the value of Ka.

For the first titration, the equivalence point of NaOH required to neutralize the solution
was 9.5 mL. For the second titration the volume was 9.8 mL. The values that were obtained
from titration plot will then be used to determine the equivalent dissociation constant (Ka) of
the unknown acid and later will be used to decide the identity of the weak acid. The values of
the half equivalence point for the first and second titration were 4.75 mL and 4.9 mL
respectively. The pH value for each titration trial were 5.1, and 5 respectively. From the
experiment using method of equivalence point, the average of the Ka values that was
determined from titration process was 8.9715 x 10-6. The average Ka value obtained from the
calculation was close to the Ka value of Ethanoic Acid which is 1.8 x 10-5 with up to 50.16 %
percentage error.

13
 The second method involved determining the Ka value of unknown acid by using the
ICE table. The calculation makes use of the initial pH of the unknown acid solution which were
determined to be 3.97 for trial 1 and 3.98 for trial 2 respectively. There was no significant
difference between the two trials of the measurement. The Ka values for the first trial is 5.964
x 10-5 and for the second trial the Ka value calculated was 5.613 x 10-5. The average value of
the Ka was about 5.789 x 10-5. Based on the Table 3.1, this result is closer with the Ka of
Benzoic acid which is 6.3 x 10-5 with up to 8.11% percentage error.

Based on the two parts of experiment, the Ka value was identifying to be different than each
other. For method 1, it was guess that the weak acid is Ethanoic acid, whereas for method 2,
the result show that the weak acid might be a Benzoic acid. However, the result form the
titration in method 2 is more tolerable as it is closer to the reference value with lesser percentage
error.

14
9. CONCLUSIONS

To sum up, this experiment to determine the Ka of weak acid using two different methods is a
success. We have achieved the objective of this experiment which was to determine acid
dissociation constant Ka for an unknown weak acid and thereby identify the acid.

The first way was by using the measurement of the pH at the half-neutralization or half
equivalence point in the titration. When the acid was exactly half neutralized, the pH of the
solution is equal to the pKa of the acid. By dividing the equilibrium point by 2. We determined
the pKa for unknown weak acid directly from the titration curve. From this method we get an
average of the Ka value of 8.9715 x 10-6 and assume it as Ethanoic Acid with up of 50.16%
percentage error.

The second way to determine the Ka of the solution is by using ICE (Initial, Change,
Equilibrium) table. This is a simple matrix formalism that used to simplify the calculations in
reversible equilibrium reactions. ICE tables are composed of the concentrations of molecules
in solution in different stages of a reaction, and are usually used to calculate the Ka,
or equilibrium constant expression of a reaction. By using this ICE table method, we get an
average of 5.789 x 10-5 and assume it as Benzoic Acid with up to 8.11% percentage error.

Average value is considered. After discussion we have decided and determine the result of the
acid is a Benzoic Acid by using ICE table method with a less percentage error for this
experiment.

15
10. RECOMMENDATIONS

There are a few recommendations that should be considered in order to obtain the
results more accurately. Firstly, to get the good result in the value of pH meter, always make
sure that the tip of the electrode does not comes in contact with the wall or bottom part of the
beaker due to avoid parallax error. Next, use dried standard apparatus before weighing or
diluting because the standard of NaOH should be a hundred percent pure and stable at room
temperature. It is also very important to ensure that there are no trapped bubbles in the burette.
During the titration process, the eye must be perpendicular to the meniscus of the sodium
hydroxide solution in the burette as to get accurate reading. On the other hand, every student
that are conducted the experiment should have to wear proper personal protective equipment
as to maximize the level of safeties in the laboratory during the experiment.

11. REFERENCES

Source: Lab manual

1. Illinois Central College CHEMISTRY 132

Source: Journal

2. Petrucci, et al. General Chemistry:Principles & Modern Applications; Ninth Edition,

Pearson/Prentice Hall; Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07.

Source: Website

3. Acid dissociation constant from

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acid_dissociation_constant
4. Calculating a Ka Value from a Known pH from
https://chem.libretexts.org/Core/Physical_and_Theoretical_Chemistry/Acids_and_Bas
es/Ionization_Constants/Calculating_A_Ka_Value_From_A_Measured_Ph

16
12. APPENDICES

Figure 4 Figure 5
Figure 4 shows the apparatus used in this experiment. Figure 5 shows Mettler Toledo
type pH meter used in this experiment to measure pH reading.

Figure 6 Figure 7
Figure 6 shows the procedure of transferring NaOH solution to the burette. Figure 7
shows the process of measuring pH reading by immersed pH meter electrode tip to the
solution.

17