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Vishvin Ramesh
Vanessa Gonzalez, Kasandra Altman, Nayana Joseph

Volumetric Analysis and Vinegar Analysis

determine the percent by mass of acetic acid in vinegar.

Unknown : Chicken and Cow

Key Result: The molar concentrations of Cow and Chicken were .08 mol/L and .15 mol/L
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Abstract:

The purpose of these experiments were to determine the number of moles of NaOH and

then determine the percent by mass of acetic acid in vinegar. One of the theories seen used in this

lab is the idea of stoichiometry, the relationship between the reactants and products.

Stoichiometry was extremely important in the experiment to help determine the mole to mole

ratio of NaOH to acetic acid which was 1:1. Another technique used was titrations. A titration

was set up during the lab, which helped determine how much NaOH in mL was used in order to

neutralize the acetic acid. The setup for the titration consisted of an Erlenmeyer flask with 10 mL

of the unknown solution and 2 drops of phenolphthalein, which was the indicator. The purpose of

the indicator was to display when the solution becomes slightly basic, which is when the color

turns pink. A burette which was suspended above the flask dropped NaOH until the liquid in the

flask turned pink, the burette was then stopped. The results from the lab showed that the molar

concentration of the unknown solution chicken was 0.15 mol/L and the molar concentration of

the unknown solution cow was .08 mol/L.

Introduction:

The purpose of this experiment was to figure out the percent by mass of acetic acid in

two unknown samples, through the means of titrations. Multiple concepts of chemistry were

employed throughout the lab. A concept used in the lab was volumetric analysis, which is a

method used to determine the concentration of a solute in a solution. This is done through the

help of a titration. Titrations were the biggest concept explored in this lab, as it helped determine

the concentrations of the unknowns. A titration is a technique used to determine what the

concentration of of a solute is in a solution. During this process, a solution with a known

concentration is added to a solution with an unknown concentration until the reaction stops. The

sodium hydroxide was the solution of known concentration, and was added to the unknown. In

order to determine when the reaction ends, the indicator phenolphthalein was used, and displayed

the color pink in the flask. Stoichiometry was seen in the lab when balancing the equation,

CH3COOH (aq) + NaOH (aq) —> NaCH3CO2 (aq) +H2O (l). Using stoichiometry in this

equation, can help determine the mole to mole ratio of Acetic acid to NaOH, which would then

aid in determining the percent by mass of the acetic acid. In order to then determine the percent

by mass of acetic acid, the formula % by mass of CH3COOH = [(mass of CH3COOH in grams)/

(mass of vinegar in grams)] * 100. Using this formula helps reach the objective of the lab, which

was to determine the percent by mass of acetic acid in vinegar.

Materials and Methods:

The procedure for this lab consisted of using a titration set up in order to measure how

much acetic acid was in an unknown sample. An Erlenmeyer flask was used to start out and hold

10 mL of the unknown sample, as well as 2 drops of the phenolphthalein which was an indicator.

A burette was then set up, filled with 0.2 molar NaOH. This burette was then suspended above

the flask, and drops of NaOH came out until the liquid in the Erlenmeyer flask turned pink. The

beginning and end volumes of the NaOH In the burette were then recorded to calculate how

much NaOH was used. Experiment 9 was not carried out but was helpful, as the concentration of

NaOH was given. These experiments were carried out according to the Laboratory manual for

Principles of General Chemistry Eleventh Edition by J:A Beran and Mark Lassiter.
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Calculations and Results:

Discussion:

The Vinegar analysis lab’s purpose was a to help determine the acetic acid content in

vinegar samples using a titration. During the titration process, NaOh was slowly added to the

unknown samples while the color change was being observed by the lab group. The color change

of the solution with the phenolphthalein was essential as indicated the endpoint for the reaction.

One theory that was explored in this lab was the Acids and Bases theory, more specifically

concept of acid and base neutralization. The concept basically states that a chemical reaction

which include both an acid and a base reacting, would result in the cancelling out of their acidic

and basic properties, leaving behind a neutral solution. In the lab the basic sodium hydroxide

solution neutralized the acetic acid, resulting in a pink color. The solution left after the end point

was neutral, correctly displaying the concept of acid and base neutralization. The results from

the experiment show consistency as both trials 1 and 2 for the unknown “Cow” resulted in

around .08 mol NaOH. The results for the unknown “Chicken” were also consistent as both

trials, 1 and 2 showed that the moles of NaOH were around 0.15. During the calculations, the

theory of stoichiometry was used, as the mole to mole ratio was used to figure out the percent

mass of acetic acid. After analysis of the data, it was revealed that the unknown sample cow had

twice as many moles as the unknown sample,“chicken”. The significance of these results is that

it shows the practical applications of titrations, and how they work. The experiment was able to

successfully reach the objective of finding the percent mass of acetic acid, while demonstrating

the use of stoichiometry and titrations.

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Conclusion:

The objective achieved in this lab was the percent mass of acetic acid. During the lab a

few errors could have occurred which could have skewed the data. One of the errors could have

been an air bubble in the burette, as it would change the measurement when calculating how

much NaOH was used during the titration. The results from the lab indicated that the moles of

NaOH in the sample “cow” were twice as much as the moles of NaOH in the sample “chicken”.

Regarding the accuracy and reliability of the data, two trials were taken, both of which, for each

sample, resulted in similar values, 0.15 and .145 mol of NaOH for the sample “chicken”, and

0.083 and 0.081 moles of NaOH for the sample “cow”. An area of improvement in this lab could

be the cleaning of apparatus before usage, as the equipment could be contaminated and interfere

with the experiment.

Works Cited:

(1) Beran, J. A. Laboratory Manual for Principles of General Chemistry, 11th ed.;
Hoboken_J. Wiley, 2014.
(2) Flowers, P.; Bott, S.; Carpenetti, D.; Eklund, A.; El-Guar, E.; Frantz, D.; Hooker,
PiKamiosk, G.; Look, J.; Martinez, C.; Milliken, T.; Moravec, V.; Powell, J. D.; Sorensen, T.;
Soult, A.; Theopold, K.; Langley, R.; Robinson, W. R.; Blaser, M. Chemistry 2e; Qpenstax: Ann
Arbor, Michigan, 2019.