Salt Abuse Lab Report

The litmus paper and the pH probe determined the salt solutions’ pH levels. When the blue litmus paper was dipped into ammonium chloride, the paper was changed to red whereas the red litmus paper stayed the same indicating that the solution was acidic. PH levels shown through pH probe also ranged between 5.5 to 6.0. Yet when in the presence of sodium acetate blue litmus stayed blue whereas red litmus turned blue, indicating its basicity. pH probe also showed the solution’s pH varied between the line of 10 to 14. Calcium chloride was also observed to be acidic. The only conflicting result was sodium chloride, which in the presence neither of the paper changed color, but was determined to be acidic according to the probe. However, their pH
Sodium acetate is a salt formed by the neutralization between a weak acid and a strong base. The resulting salt is slightly is basic, and when it’s dissolved in the water, hydrolysis occurs. Water is more occupied with OH-, hence the solution is basic. But in ammonium chloride, a salt formed by the neutralization between strong acid and relatively weaker base, more H+ ions are produced and the solution becomes acidic. Also, the pH of sodium chloride might have been significantly lowered because the distilled water used was slightly acidic, hence making originally neutral sodium chloride solution acidic. To test whether pH of salts are related to acidity and basicity of neutralized acid or base, three groups of a base and an acid other than the ones used in the experiment can be neutralized, group 1 being a strong acid and a strong base, group 2 being a strong acid and a weak base, and finally group 3 being a weak acid and a strong base. If the results show that salt formed by group one is neutral, group two acidic and three basic when dissolved in water solution, it will be determined that the neutralized acid and base’ pH does matter and all salts vary in