Experiment 1:Introduction to pH Indicators

1. Fill in the table with the results from your lab notes.

Cabbage juice color / pH
water
/ Blue / 7.00
acetone
/ Blue / 7.00
5M citric acid
/ Pink / 3.96
5% vinegar
/ Red / 2.55
4M ammonia
/ Yellow / 11.78
Bleach / Teal / 10.52

2. How accurate is your cabbage extract, does it change to a different color for every possible pH? The cabbage extract turned a different color for every pH except for acetone, which remained blue.

Experiment 2 - Response of Solutions to the Addition of Acids and Bases

1. Fill in the pH values for the solutions before and after the addition of acid and base, then answer the following questions.

Group 1

1 – 7.00 -> 2.01

2 – 4.68 -> 3.11

3 – 9.72 -> 9.72

4 – 7.21 -> 7.11

Group 2

1 – 7.00 -> 11.99

2 – 4.68 -> 6.26

3 – 9.72 -> 11.27

4 – 7.21 -> 7.39

2. Which solution was themostsensitive to the addition of acid or base? The solution most sensitive was the first solution in group one, with 5 ml water and 2 drops of 0.5M Hydrochloric Acid.

3. Which solution was theleastsensitive to the addition of acid or base? The solution least sensitive to the addition of acid or base was the third solution in the first group, consisting of 5 mL of0.1M Sodium Dibasic Phosphate and 2 drops of 0.5M Hydrochloric Acid.

4. Did any solution show a significant difference between its response to the addition of the acid and the base?

The solution that did show a difference between its response to acids and bases was the third solution: Sodium Dibasic Phosphate.

5. Which solution of the four is the best buffer against additions of acid or base?

The standard phosphate buffer (Sodium Dibasic Phosphate

and Sodium Monobasic Phosphate)

6. Within what range of pH did the best buffer perform well?

The range of pH in which the buffer performed the best was almost exactly neutral. The range was 7.11 to 7.39.

Experiment 3 - The Buffering Capacity of a Phosphate Buffer

1. Record the results of the pH of the phosphate buffer solution vs. the number of drops ofHCl acidadded to it.

Original phosphate buffer solution: 7.21

After HCI added: 7.16

Drop 2: 7.11

Drop 3: 7.05

Drop 4: 6.99

Drop 5: 6.91

Drop 6: 6.81

Drop 7: 6.69

Drop 8: 6.51

Drop 9: 6.21

Drop 10: 4.70

Drop 11: 3.15

Drop 12: 2.82 – pH has now fallen below 3.

Drop 13:

Drop 14:

Drop 15:

2. Record the results of the pH of the phosphate buffer solution vs. the number of drops ofNaOH baseadded to it.

Original phosphate buffer solution: 7.21

After NaOH added: 7.30

Drop 2: 7.39

Drop 3: 7.48

Drop 4: 7.58

Drop 5: 7.69

Drop 6: 7.81

Drop 7: 7.96

Drop 8: 8.16

Drop 9: 8.49

Drop 10: 9.72

Drop 11: 10.94

Drop 12: 11.26 – pH has now risen above 11

Drop 13:

Drop 14:

Drop 15:

3. Construct a graph of the pH vs. the number of drops ofacid OR base added to the phosphate buffer. Since, on the pH scale values below 7 are acidic while hose above 7 are basic, you can construct a combined graph of both the acid and base data by doing the following:

· Use the initial pH of the carbonate solution for the Y value at the initial pH value of the buffer, before any acid or base was added.

· Use the number of drops ofbaseaspositiveX values

· Use the number of drops ofacidasnegativeX values

The graph you constructed should give you a good idea of how much acid and base the phosphate buffer solution can absorb before allowing the pH to change significantly.

Here's how to make a graph of your data:

Open thegraphing utilityby clicking on the graph button at the bottom of this window page.

(a) Labeling Graph:

In the data area on the left, enter:
a title for your graph next to the phrase“Graph Title”
the X-axis units at the top of the X column
the Y-axis units at the top of the Y column

(b) Entering Data:

Click the+buttonfor each set of data pairs that you want to graph. The-button will delete a selected row of data pairs.

Click on the row to fill in the pair of x and y values.

To change any data, simply click on a value in the table and change its value.

(c) Creating Graph

When all the data points have been entered, click theDraw Graphbutton to view the graph.

If you update data after this point,click theDraw Graphbutton again to see your changes.

(e) Saving Graph

To save your graph, click theSave as Newbutton. The graph is saved with your work with the title you gave it.

Use theMy Saved Graphsdropdown menu at the top to view this or any other graph you have saved for this lab.

Note:If you are editing a saved graph, click theUpdatebutton to overwrite the original graph. If you click theSave as Newbutton, the original graph will stay intact and the updated graph will save as a separate graph.

(f)Submitting Graph

When you are satisfied with the graph,clickSave Image to Portfolio.Your instructor will only see graphs that you save to the portfolio. You may save as many graphs as you like.

To view the contents of your portfolio, click theReturn to Assignmentsbutton at the bottom of this window, then selectPortfolio.

4. How many drops of acid was the phosphate buffer able to absorb while keeping the pH relatively stable?

5. How many drops of base was the phosphate buffer able to absorb while keeping the pH relatively stable?

6.Hypothesis:The phosphate buffer has 2 components and a pH of around 7. One component absorbs acids and the other absorbs bases. The buffer should be capable of absorbing up to half its own 'weight' of excess acid or base.

Let's test this hypothesis.

To do so, we need toquantitativelycompare the amounts of buffer and added acid and base in the experiment. We use units of milli-mole (one thousandth of a mole), written as 'mmol' .

The phosphate buffer had 2.5 mL of 0.1M Na2HPO4, the acid absorber, where 0.1M means a concentration of 0.1 moles per liter of solution. Convert this to mmol/mL as follows:

(0.1 Mole/L) x (1000 mmol / 1 Mole) x (1L / 1000 mL) x (2.5 mL) =0 .25 mmol

The same amount of NaH2PO4 base absorber is present as well.

The amount of added acid or base is calculated from the number of drops, knowing that one drop is approximately 0.05 mL, and the concentrations of the acid and base was 0.5M, as follows:

(0.5 Mole/L) x (1000 mmol / 1 Mole) x (1L / 1000 mL) x (0.05 mL/drop) =0.025 mmol / drop

(a) Look again at the graph of pH vs. drops of acid/base and decide at what number of drops the bufferfailedto maintain a nearly constant pH.

(b) Record this pH value for the addition of both acid and base.

(c) Multiply the number of drops by the conversion factor above, and divide by the total volume of buffer used (5 mL) to obtain the total buffering capacity, in mmol/mL. Your answer should be written as follows:

Phosphate buffering capacity

= X mmol acid per mL of buffer

= Y mmol base per mL of buffer