Neutralization investigation

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Neutralization investigation Nicky G

I will conduct an investigation into the effect an alkali and an acid have on each other using titration, find out whether neutralization occurs, and what factors effect neutralization if any. I will look at how concentration and type of an acid can affect neutralization.

Acids And Alkalis

Acids and alkalis are substances found everywhere in our daily lives. They both have different properties that can be both harmful and advantageous. Some examples of substances containing alkaline are toothpaste, which is used to fight acid in the mouth built up by bacteria in the mouth digesting sugar, and antacids, which are tablets used to combat acid indigestion. A base is any substance that can neutralize an acid, so an alkali can be called a soluble base as it also dissolves in water. There are other known compounds that can neutralize acids such as zinc carbonate.

Acidic solutions are often found in the kitchen and include cleaning products to fight lime scale build up, and stronger oven spray. All these examples of acidic and alkaline solutions are also examples of neutralization, which occurs equal in our daily lives.

A neutral substance is neither an acid nor an alkali and shares no properties with them. Neutral substances such as pure water tend not to be toxic and corrosive and generally are much safer to handle than acids and alkalis.

When a neutral substance is formed water and salt are always two of the resulting products. The type of salt which is formed is derived from the type of acid used e.g. sulphide makes sulphate salts, nitrogen makes nitrate salts, and chloride makes chlorine salts. This should mean hydrochloric acid and sulphuric acid should leave chloride and sulphide salts as well as pure water.

Some examples of neutralization and its products found in labs:

Nitric acid + magnesium oxide magnesium nitrate (salt) + water

Hydrochloric acid + calcium hydroxide calcium chloride (salt) + water

Some properties of acids:

* Have a sour taste

* React with metals to form hydrogen and salt

* Some are corrosive

* Have a pH of less than 7 (as explained later)

Some properties of alkalis

* Are toxic

* Have a pH greater than 7

* Have a bitter taste

Some examples of acids are:

* Hydrochloric acid, HCL

* Sulphuric acid, H2504

* Nitric acid, HNO3

Some examples of alkalis are:

* Sodium hydroxide, NaOH

* Potassium hydroxide, KOH

* Calcium hydroxide, Ca(OH)2

What are acids and alkalis?

According to Chemistry A-Level by Ted Philips: ''An alkali is a substance which dissolves in water to form hydroxide ions, as it's only negative ion'', and ''An acid is a substance which dissolves in water to form hydrogen ions, as it's only positive ion''.

This means that all alkalis are made up of hydroxide ions, OH-, which are negative, and all acids are made up of hydrogen ions, H+ which are positive. When water is added to an alkali or an acid the molecules in the acid or alkali brake up to form either hydrogen or hydroxide ions. This means that acids and alkalis have different (charges?) and this is why they have different properties.

How are alkalis and Acids measured, and how do they vary?

I now know that acids and alkalis are compounds which dissolve in water to form hydrogen or hydroxide as their only positive and negative ions, however within acids and alkalis the composition of hydrogen or hydroxide ions can give different strengths of acids and alkalis. When we refer to an acid as weak or strong we are referring to the amount of hydrogen ions concentrated within every mole of the substance when it is pure. Concentration means the amount of H+ or OH- ions in acids/alkalis. The more hydrogen ions there are per mole of acid, the more acidic it is. Similarly when we refer to an alkali as weak or strong we are referring to the concentration of hydroxide ions.

Co-ordinated Science defines the strength of an acid: ''in a strong acid, nearly all the acid molecules form ions. In a weak acid, only some of the acid molecules form ions.''

This means that in a weak acid/alkali not all the molecules are strong enough to form into ions and the result is a substance with less ions meaning a lower concentration of ions, and therefore a weaker ionic structure with weaker acidic/alkaline properties.

The concentration of an acid or an alkali is measured on something called the pH scale, which runs from 0-14 with 1 being the strongest acid and 14 being the strongest alkali. (Diagram of pH scale shown below, also table showing typical acids, neutral and base substances and their pHs).
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For my investigation I should use one strong acid and one strong alkali. I should use extremes like this so I can get strong results which are easy to test for and therefore very conclusive.

I will use hydrochloric acid, HCl, Sulphuric acid, H SO , and sodium hydroxide, NaOH, as the acid and alkali for my investigation. I choose these three substances because they vary in terms of their strength and were they are on the pH scale- this should give me a range of results, which test the accuracy of the pH scale. Hydrochloric ...

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