DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.

Analysis/Conclusion:

 

The purpose of this lab was to determine the concentration of a sodium hydroxide solution by titrating it with a standard solution of known concentration. During this lab, the concentration of NaOH solution was calculated. An automatic titrator and data collection system were used to generate titration curves, and thus calculate concentration. The titration curves of three different KHP solutions were plotted on a graph of pH vs. volume, and the equivalence points of each curve were used to determine the concentration of the NaOH solution. Using the equation for concentration (c= n/V), the average concentration of the NaOH solution was found to be 0.097 M. The results of this lab were rather accurate, as the calculated average concentration of the NaOH solution almost reached the expected concentration of 0.100 M.

 

Although the results of this lab were fairly accurate, as in any lab, the possibility for error is inevitable. For example, the NaOH used to prepare the NaOH solution may have been exposed to air, altering the results of the titration. Since NaOH reacts very easily with air, if the NaOH container was left open during preparation or if there was a long period of time in between measuring the NaOH and mixing it with water, error was likely to have occurred. Also, if the data collection system was not set-up properly, an inaccurate titration curve would be generated, resulting in the incorrect calculation of concentration. Since the automatic titrator was new to many students within the lab, set-up took longer than expected, resulting in rushed and possibly error-filled titrations. In future labs, I would emphasize the importance of not exposing the NaOH to air, and the proper set-up of data collection systems, in order to ensure accurate results. I would also increase the number of trials for this lab, in order to achieve more plentiful and accurate data.

DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.