OF
AGRICULTURE AND TECHNOLOGY
DEPT: CIVIL ENGINEERING
UNIT: CHEMISTRY 1 (SCH 2109)
PRACTICAL REPORT
EXPT 2:
Standardization
and
Determination of Concentration of Hydrochloric Acid in a Given Solution
by ARAKA BRAMWEL MBOGO
EN251-0221/2010
TITLE: STANDARDIZATION and DETERMINATION OF THE CONCENTRATION OF HYDROCHLORIC ACID PRESENT IN A GIVEN SOLUTION
Aims:
To be able to standardize Sodium Hydroxide (NaOH) solution using a standard solution of Oxalic acid.
To be able to prepare standard solutions.
To determine the strength of a given solution of Hydrochloric acid (HCl)
To analyze errors that occur during standardization experiments.
Introduction:
A standard solution can be defined as a solution that contains a precisely known concentration of a substance.
Concentration refers to the abundance of a substance in its mixture or solution.
Standard solutions are used to determine the concentration of other substances with which they react in known ratios/proportions.
Standardization, therefore, refers the process in which the value of a potential standard is fixed by a measurement made with respect to a standard whose value is known; or simply the act of accurately determining the concentration of a substance by titrating it with a solution of accurately known concentration (standard solution).
Standardization, therefore, basically involves titration, especially acid-base titration.
Common reagents used for standardization of acids include:
Pure sodium carbonate
Pure borax (sodium metaborate)
Pure calcium carbonate (Iceland spar)
Common reagents used for standardization of alkalis comprise of solid crystalline acids like: Succinic acid Oxalic acid
Good standardizing reagents should have the following characteristics: They should have a high degree of purity
They should be stable and unaffected by the atmosphere, i.e they should not be efflorescent or deliquescent, for easy weighing.
They should have
References: The Essentials of Volumetric Analysis 2nd Edition by John Lambert Laboratory Manual for Chemistry by Chemical Education Material Study Practical Chemistry 3rd Edition by John Lambert Quantitative analysis and Chemical Calculations by E. N Lambert and M. J Mohammed