BANGLADESH UNIVERSITY OF ENGINEERING AND TEHCNOLOGY

LAB REPORT

Name of the Experiment:

Standardization of HCl with Standard Na2CO3 Solution
Experiment Number : 3
Course : CHEM 114
Submitted by : Sheikh Mahir Abrar

ID : 2008045

Date of Performance : 17-2-22

Date of Submission : 26-2-22
Submitted to : Dr. Chanchal Kumar Roy, Assistant Professor, Dept. of Chemistry, BUET
OBJECTIVE:
The objective of this experiment is to determine the concentration of a commercial acid
(HCl) and to understand the reaction mechanism of a diprotic salt.

THEORY:
To achieve our objectives of the experiment we need to conduct a volumetric quantitative
analysis, titration process. The titration-based reaction used to conclude the experiment is
given below:

2HCl(aq) + Na2CO3(aq) = 2NaCl(aq) + CO2(g) + H2O(l)

The above-mentioned reaction is actually a two-step reaction. In the first step 1 mole HCl
reacts with 1 mole of Na2CO3 and produces 1 mole of NaHCO3 and NaCl each. Here, NaHCO3
is a basic salt, thus further adding HCl in the solution results in NaCl, H2O and CO2. We can
portray the main reaction as these two sub-sections:

Step 1: Na2CO3 + HCl = NaHCO3 + NaCl

H+ + CO32- = HCO3-

Step 2: NaHCO3 + HCl = NaCl + H2CO3

HCO3- + H+ = CO2 + H2O

Overall reaction:

2HCl(aq) + Na2CO3(aq) = 2NaCl(aq) + CO2(g) + H2O(l)

2H+ + CO32- = CO2 + H2O

Presence of the two-step reaction can be observed in the pH change graph of the
experiment as given below:
The graph shows us that we get two different end points in the titration process. This is
because when HCl reacts with Na2CO3 and produces NaHCO3 (Step – 1), we get a neutral
solution and thus get an end point for that step. When we add more acid, NaHCO 3 reacts
with HCl, producing NaCl (Step—2) which gives us another end point.
For this experiment we use two indicators, namely- methyl orange and phenolphthalein.
These two indicators help to distinguish two different end points as they work in different
pH ranges. We use phenolphthalein to identify the first end point as the working range for it
is of pH 8.3-10.3. Then methyl orange is used to identify the second end point (Step – 2)
since it works in the pH range of 2.6-4.6.

The work mechanism of phenolphthalein is –

The work mechanism of methyl orange is –

In order to determine the concentration of our given commercial acid HCl, a secondary
standard substance, we use Na2CO3, a primary standard, substance to conclude the
experiment.

NAME OF THE APPARATUS:

1. Conical flask
2. Volumetric flask
3. Digital balance
4. Wash bottle
5. Burette
6. Burette stand
7. Pipette
8. Pipette filler
9. Funnel

NAME OF THE CHEMICALS:

1. Na2CO3
2. Conc. HCl
3. Methyl orange (Indicator)
4. Phenolphthalein (Indicator)
5. Distilled water

PREPARATION OF STANDARD SOLUTION:

Initial weight of weighing bottle + sample =
Final weight of weighing bottle + sample =
Amount of Na2CO3 transferred =
= 0.55 g
0.55 g Na2CO3 in 100 mL volumetric flask + distilled water → 100 mL solution
𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑡𝑎𝑘𝑒𝑛(𝑔)
Strength of Na2CO3 solution = 𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑒 𝑡𝑎𝑘𝑒𝑛(𝑔) × 0.05𝑀
 0.55
= 0.53 × 0.05

= 0.0519 M

EXPERIMENTAL TABLE:
Number of Volume Burette reading (mL) Difference Required volume
Observation of of HCL (mL)
Na2CO3 Initial Reading Reading
(mL) Phenolphthalein methyl
orange
1 0.8 6.3 11.3 10.5

2 11.4 16.6 21.6 10.2

10 10.1
3 21.6 26.7 31.7 10.1

4 31.7 36.8 41.8 10.1

CALCULATION:
For diluted HCl,
Volume of Na2CO3 = 10 mL = 10 × 10-3 L = 10-2 L
Concentration of Na2CO3 = 0.0519 M
No. of moles of Na2CO3 = 0.0519 × 10-2 = 5.19 × 10-4 mol
1 mole of Na2CO3 reacts with 2 moles of HCl. So, 5.19 × 10-4 mol of Na2CO3 will react with
2 × 5.19 × 10-4 = 1.038 × 10-3 mol of HCl.
Volume of diluted HCl = 10.1 mL = 10.1 × 10-3 L
1.038 ×10−3
Concentration of diluted HCl = 10.1 ×10−3

= 0.1028 M
For the concentration of supplied concentrated HCl:
Volume of diluted HCl = 100 mL = 0.1 L
Moles present in diluted HCl = 0.1028 M × 0.1 L
= 0.01028 mol
Volume of concentrated HCl = 1.3 mL = 1.3 × 10-3 L
0.01028
Concentration of the supplied HCl = 1.3 ×10−3 = 7.91 M

RESULT:
The concentration of supplied commercial HCl is 7.91 M.

DISCUSSION:
For the determination of strength of the supplied commercial HCl, to dilute concentrated
HCl, one should not add water in acid. It is advised to slowly drop-wise add acid in water to
dilute the acid to avoid unwanted reactions and inflammation. We should clean the
apparatus properly before using them. Burette reading should be taken according to the
value of the lower meniscus. Otherwise, the result will have a large percentage of error.
However, the result of our experiment is quite accurate as we have followed the necessary
protocols.

QUESTION ANSWERS
1. Why is Na2CO3 a primary standard substance?
Ans: Na2CO3 is a primary standard substance because it’s highly pure, stable and doesn’t
change its concentration with various environmental factors.
2. Why aqueous solution of Na2CO3 is basic?
Ans: When Na2CO3 dissolves in water it dissociates into two Na+ and a CO32- ion. CO32- ion is
able to remove H+ from water to form HCO3- and OH-. The overall increase in OH- ions due to
these reactions results in an increase in the pH of the solution. That’s why the solution
becomes basic.
3. Draw the pH neutralization curve of Na2CO3 when HCl is added to it.
Ans:
4. Why is there two neutralization points in the neutralization curve?

Ans: Na2CO3 + HCl = NaHCO3 + NaCl ......Step -1

NaHCO3 + HCl = NaCl + H2CO3 .........Step - 2

This is because when HCl reacts with Na2CO3 and produces NaHCO3 (Step – 1), we get a
neutral solution and thus get an end point for that step. When we add more acid, NaHCO 3
reacts with HCl, producing NaCl (Step—2), also a neutral solution, which gives us another
end point. Thus, there are two neutralization points in the pH curve.

5. Why we are using two indicators here?

Ans: As the two-step reaction has two different end points, we use indicators with similar
ranges to properly distinguish between the two end points. For the 8.3-10.3 range we use
phenolphthalein and for the 2.6-4.6 range we use methyl orange.

6. What are the advantages of phenolphthalein to identify the first end point?

Ans: At the end point of the first step of the discussed reaction, the pH is around 8.3, which
is suitable for detection with phenolphthalein, as phenolphthalein working pH range is 8.3-
10.

7. Why methyl orange is added later, instead of using at the beginning of the reaction?

Ans: In the discussed reaction, methyl orange is useful to detect the end point of the 2 nd
step of the process. At that step, the end point pH is found to be around the suitable
detection range of methyl orange, which is 2.6-4.6. On the other hand, methyl orange
cannot be used for the detection of the first step end point. That’s why, it is added later in
the process.