Introduction:

In this investigation, this lab group was asked to perform titration on a sample of vinegar
in order to determine whether a reduction in acetic acid was responsible for the increasing
number of customer complaints about lower quality salad dressings. Titration is the
process of slowly adding one solution to another until the reaction between the two is
complete: in this process, a solution of known concentration is titrated with a solution of
unknown concentration to determine the unknown solution’s concentration (also known
as molarity). The most common titration involves an acid-base neutralization reaction.
Since these reactions involve colorless reactants and products, an indicator (a solution
that changes color depending upon the acid-content of the solution) will be used to show
the chemist when the reaction is complete. In this investigation, the indicator
phenolphthalein-which turns pink in basic solutions-will be used. The customer
complaints indicate that the usual “zing” or “bite” expected from the dressings is lacking.
The company asking for this investigation suspects that this might be caused by a
reduction in the amount of acetic acid in the vinegar that makes up the salad dressing.
Therefore, the objective is to determine the concentration and mass percent of acetic acid
in the vinegar sample so that the salad dressing quality control issue can be resolved. In
order to accomplish this titration, a sodium hydroxide (NaOH) solution will first need to
be standardized using a known mass of solid oxalic acid dehydrate (H2C2O4·2H2O (s)).
The balanced reaction equation for this first part of the investigation is H2C2O4 (aq) +
2NaOH(aq) 2H2O(l) + Na2C2O4(aq). Then, the molarity of sodium hydroxide and the
density of vinegar will be used to determine the molarity and mass percent of the acetic
acid that is in the vinegar sample. The balanced reaction equation for this last part of the
investigation is CH3COOH + NaOH CH3COONa + H2O.

Methods:
The first step in this experiment is to rinse and condition the buret; the tool which will be
used to dispense sodium hydroxide (NaOH) into the solution containing the oxalic acid.
To rinse the buret, deionized water is drained through the buret three times. Then, after
the buret is well drained, the stopcock at the end of the buret is closed and filled with 5-
10 mL of sodium hydroxide. The buret is then tipped sideways which allows the sodium
hydroxide to completely rinse the inside of the buret (effectively removing any remaining
water). This step will prevent contamination or dilution. The sodium hydroxide in the
buret is dumped into the waste beaker. Next, approximately 0.63 g of oxalic acid is
weighed out into a beaker; any mass within the range of 0.62 g - 0.64g is acceptable. This
is an appropriate mass for a complete reaction with 20mL of 0.50 M sodium hydroxide.
The exact mass is recorded. Water is added into the beaker with the oxalic acid along
with three drops of the indicator phenolphthalein to create a solution. This solution is
then placed under the buret. After that, approximately 25mL of sodium hydroxide is
poured into the buret (with the stopcock closed). Finally, the stopcock is opened and
titration begins until the indicator turns the entire solution a faint pink color. Once this
color is observed, flow of the sodium hydroxide solution into the beaker is stopped and
the volume of sodium hydroxide released from the buret is recorded. The above steps are
all repeated until three trials have been recorded. The molarity of sodium hydroxide is
calculated and an average of all three trials is recorded.

The next phase of the investigation involves the titration of sodium hydroxide and
vinegar. The first required piece of data is the density of vinegar. This is measured by
pouring out 10 mL of vinegar into a beaker and measuring its mass on a scale. The mass
is divided by the volume (10 mL) to obtain the density. Then the titration set-up must be
addressed. The initial rinsing and conditioning of the buret is the same process as
described above. After that step is complete, the stopcock is closed and the buret is filled
with 50 mL of sodium hydroxide (the whole amount will be used over the course of three
trials). Then 10 mL of vinegar is poured into a beaker and three drops of the indicator
phenolphthalein are added to the solution (no water is needed for this titration). Finally,
sodium hydroxide is added to the vinegar solution until the indicator turns the entire
solution a pink color. Once this color is observed, flow of the sodium hydroxide solution
into the beaker is stopped and the volume of sodium hydroxide released from the buret is
recorded. The above steps are all repeated until three trials have been recorded. The
calculations which result from this data are referred to in the discussion and results
sections of this lab report.