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Pasco Synthesis

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The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has come to the lab group to investigate an abandoned chemical company. In specific, an unknown compound is to be investigated and identified. The lab group takes this goal a step further and also compares it against products found around the member’s homes. Multiple titrations will be performed, both with use of the PASCO program and by manual indicator. Through these experiments, different calculations will be performed to help in the analysis. In addition, a dilution study is performed to see the effects of dilution against an acid or base. The procedures used to identify the unknown compound can be used in the future, in case of other abandoned chemical companies.

Identifying the Unknown The …show more content…

Its concentration was found through a quantitative and qualitative titration testing. Because HCl is acidic, a 1.07M NaOH solution was used to titrate an aqueous solution of HCl (the unknown solution). The PASCO program gave the final results shown in Figure 1. A typical titration curve can be described as starting at the initial pH of the solution, then some acid/base is added, until a sharp curve either up or down takes the pH past a neutral of 7, and towards the pH level of whatever the added acid’s/base’s pH is (Clark6). The stronger the acid or base being titrated, the faster the change occurs, which means a sharper slope of the titration graph. Also, it is important to note the equivalence point on this titration graph. At the equivalence point “the correct amount of standard solution must be added to fully react with the unknown concentration” (Xavier3). In Figure 1, this equivalence point is shown by where the sharpest slope occurs in the curve, which is seen at about a pH of 5.0 …show more content…

The first titration (with use of the PASCO program) is the most accurate titration that the lab group can perform. The titration curve gives many different variables, with accuracy that passes what humans can do without a machine. But the problem with this titration is that the curve or change to neutrality can often be sudden and out of nowhere. This means that it is very hard to just titrate a solution to become neutral, and often will change into the opposite property, essentially an acid to base and vice versa. The titration with use of an indicator is less accurate, but shows a more visual representation about how a titration takes place. The change in color is a less accurate indication of the volume it takes a solution to change to be neutral, but the visual change is helpful in a classroom laboratory setting. The preference is the first titration method, because it is more accurate and can give more reliable data, since the PASCO machine and drips added are not affected by human

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