Lab 5 - Standardization of NaOH Using Oxalic Acid

Lab No.
5
Titration of Sodium Hydroxide Using Standard
Oxalic Acid Solution
Objective:
The aim of this experiment is to determine the concentration of a sodium
hydroxide solution using standard oxalic acid solution by acid‐ base titration.
Introduction:
-A titration is a technique used in which a solution of known concentration
(called titrant) is used to determine the concentration of an unknown solution
(called titrand) by allowing both solutions to react using the below-shown
titration system. When titrand and titrant are acid and base, the technique is
called acid-base titration.
-Acid-base titration is a type of volumetric quantitative analysis because a

known volume of substance (acid or base) is taken to determine its unknown
concentration.
1
Titration indicator : It is a substance that changes its colour as pH changes
because it has a different colours in acidic and basic media so when the
neutralization reaction between the acid and base terminates the indicator will
change its colour giving the chemist an indication of the end of reaction.
End point : is the point at which the color of indicator changes indicating that
the acid-base reaction has already completed.
Phenolphthalein is an example of an indicator chosen to detect the end point for

the reaction between oxalic acid and sodium hydroxide.
Indicator Color in acidic medium Color in basic medium

Phenolphthalein Colorless Pink
Methyl orange red yellow
Litmus paper red blue
Procedure:
1. Wash well the volumetric pipette and Erlenmeyer flask with tap water
followed by distilled water.
2. Fill 5 mL of oxalic acid solution of known concentration (0.01M) into the
volumetric pipette using pipette pump and transfer it into an Erlenmeyer
flask. Add two drops of phenolphthalein indicator to the acid solution in
the flask.
3. Clean the burette by closing the burette stopcock and adding tap water
from the top of burette with the aid of glass funnel then put a beaker
below the burette and open the stopcock to empty the water from burette
into the beaker. Repeat this cleaning step again using distilled water.
4. Take some of sodium hydroxide solution of unknown concentration from
NaOH reagent bottle to a small beaker then close burette stopcock and
start to fill NaOH into the burette.
2
5. Continue filling the burette with NaOH solution till solution level in
burette is slightly above the 0.00 mL mark then open the stopcock to
allow several drops of NaOH solution to come down out from burette to
eliminate any air bubbles in the burette tip and adjust the NaOH level at
the 0.00 mL mark and finally close the stopcock.
6. Place the Erlenmeyer flask containing oxalic acid of known concentration

and indicator drops under the burette and start adding NaOH to the
Erlenmeyer flask by opening the stopcock.
7. Swirl the flask with your right hand while the other controls the stopcock.
The pink color of indicator will appear and disappear again quickly. When
the pink color disappears slowly then start to add the solution slowly by
controlling the stopcock.
8. The end point is reached when a very light pink color persists i.e. stay
and do not disappear with swirling for several seconds.
9. Record the final reading of the burette after reaching end point and find
the volume of NaOH (VNaOH) which has unknown concentration and that
have already neutralized with the 5 mL oxalic acid of known
concentration.
10. The unknown concentration of sodium hydroxide, M NaOH will be
determined as follows:
According to definition of molarity: M =
So M x V(L) = n = number of moles reacting of a certain substance.

Thus, M x V(mL) = number of milli-moles reacting.
3
We must consider the balanced equation between NaOH and oxalic acid
(C2H2O4):
HOOC-COOH + 2 NaOH → NaOOC-COONa

(Oxalic acid) (Sodium oxalate)
According to the last equation: one mole (or one milli-mole) of oxalic
acid react with two moles (or two milli-moles) of NaOH because oxalic
acid is dibasic acid i.e. contains two protons (like H2SO4).
Thus, the number of reacting milli-moles of NaOH is twice the number of

milli-moles of oxalic acid.
MNaOH x VNaOH = 2 (Moxalic x Moxalic)
By knowing Moxalic and Voxalic and measuring the NaOH reacted from
burette, The value of MNaOH can be determined.
Note: Each student must perform two separate titrations of NaOH against
oxalic acid and record in his/her data sheet two end points and to calculate
the final mean concentration of sodium hydroxide, MNaOH
4
Lab Sheet No. 5
Titration of Sodium Hydroxide Using Standard Oxalic

Acid Solution
Name: Date :
ID: Group: Station number:
Trial 1 Trial 2 Unit

Initial burette reading
O l mL
Final burette reading

21 21 mL
Volume of NaOH (mL), VNaOH I

2 I 21 mL
(Final burette reading – initial burette reading)
20
Mean Volume of NaOH
211 20 mL
(Mean value of trial 1 and 2) 2 20,5
Concentration of oxalic acid, Moxalic mol/L
Oso I
Volume of oxalic acid,Voxalic
lo mL
Calculate the concentration, MNaOH 26,01

from the following relation :
MNaOH x VNaOH = 2 (Moxalic x Voxalic)
1 20,
mol/L
(mean) 0,0097MOHL
Find mean MNaOH

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Lab No.

-Acid-base titration is a type of volumetric quantitative analysis because a

Phenolphthalein is an example of an indicator chosen to detect the end point for

Indicator Color in acidic medium Color in basic medium

6. Place the Erlenmeyer flask containing oxalic acid of known concentration

According to definition of molarity: M =

So M x V(L) = n = number of moles reacting of a certain substance.

HOOC-COOH + 2 NaOH → NaOOC-COONa

Thus, the number of reacting milli-moles of NaOH is twice the number of

MNaOH x VNaOH = 2 (Moxalic x Moxalic)

Titration of Sodium Hydroxide Using Standard Oxalic

ID: Group: Station number:

Trial 1 Trial 2 Unit

Final burette reading

Volume of NaOH (mL), VNaOH I

Calculate the concentration, MNaOH 26,01

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