Vinegar: Determining The Concentration Of An Unknown Solution
Vinegar is a clear liquid that is made up of acetic acid (HC2H3O2), and water (H2O). This solution is common in an average household for it is used for cooking and cleaning. By definition, a titration is a technique where a solution of known concentration is used to determine the concentration of an unknown solution. Titrations are performed in chemistry, along with different manufacturing companies, to help determine the concentrations of acids and bases when they are unknown, when a neutralization reaction occurs. There are a couple important parts of a Titration that are imperative to successful results. Identifying the end point, which means to find the point in a titration at which a reaction is complete, often marked by a colour change
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Three errors that may have occurred during this lab are having the wrong measured amount of supplies, the wrong speed of drip, and faulty equipment. First off, when the lab was prepared, the amount of vinegars, sodium hydroxide solution and phenolphthalein for each titration may not have been exact. To prevent this error and make sure that the data collected was most correct would include a group member with a steady hand and a good eye for measuring the meniscus when pipetting the base is all that is needed. The other lab partners could double check the measurement of each material. Secondly, the lab equipment used could have been an error itself. If the burette used was clogged with the base from previous investigations, this would cause error in the results. It may not have had different speeds of drips, making it difficult to receive a faint pink endpoint. Also, if there was water left in the beaker, or Erlenmeyer flask used, this could alter the results as well. To prevent this from happening, water should be ran through the burette to ensure that it works well enough for this experiment. In addition, make sure each piece of equipment used is washed and dried before conducting the experiment. Lastly, the speed of the drip was a possible error. If the group member in charge of determining the speed of the drip needed let out as small as one single drop more, this could alter the entire results of the experiment, resulting in poor results. This human error is difficult to improve, but patience and concentration could potentially terminate this
Three errors that may have occurred during this lab are having the wrong measured amount of supplies, the wrong speed of drip, and faulty equipment. First off, when the lab was prepared, the amount of vinegars, sodium hydroxide solution and phenolphthalein for each titration may not have been exact. To prevent this error and make sure that the data collected was most correct would include a group member with a steady hand and a good eye for measuring the meniscus when pipetting the base is all that is needed. The other lab partners could double check the measurement of each material. Secondly, the lab equipment used could have been an error itself. If the burette used was clogged with the base from previous investigations, this would cause error in the results. It may not have had different speeds of drips, making it difficult to receive a faint pink endpoint. Also, if there was water left in the beaker, or Erlenmeyer flask used, this could alter the results as well. To prevent this from happening, water should be ran through the burette to ensure that it works well enough for this experiment. In addition, make sure each piece of equipment used is washed and dried before conducting the experiment. Lastly, the speed of the drip was a possible error. If the group member in charge of determining the speed of the drip needed let out as small as one single drop more, this could alter the entire results of the experiment, resulting in poor results. This human error is difficult to improve, but patience and concentration could potentially terminate this