Jwl061 Chemistry IA SL May 2022

Investigating the pH change that occurs when a strong base is titrated into a
weak acid.
Introduction:
I've always been fascinated by the concept of titrations. As someone passionate about
medicine, I was able to examine the utility of titration in the medical profession. During my
investigation, I discovered that titrations were used to diagnose acidosis in the body which
has symptoms of fatigue, shortness of breath, and nausea. So, for my IA, I went with the
idea of weak acid-strong base titrations as it is frequently used in medical field, as it is a
method of limiting potential adverse effects by giving your body time to adjust to a
medicine. The medication is begun at a low dose in titration. The dose is gradually increased
("up-titrated") until the maximum effective dose ("target dose") is reached or side effects
develop. I researched this type of titration topic on my own to get a deep understanding of
weak acid-strong base titration and pKa. So, as a preliminary experiment, I used a pH meter
to titrate acetic acid and sodium hydroxide by measuring the pH shift. The experiment
worked, although the time it took to reach half-equivalence was longer than I anticipated.
To speed up the rate of reaction, I had to raise the concentration of both acid and base.

Aim:
To find out “How does titrating a strong base into a weak acid affect the pH of the
solution?”

Background information:
When a base is added to acid during the neutralization process, the pH changes as expected.
However, due to the pH scale's logarithmic nature, the change in pH does not have a linear
relationship with the amount of base provided (Brown & Ford, 2016). The simplest way to
track the reaction is to use a pH meter to record pH as a function of the volume of base
provided and plot these results as pH curves.

.
Fig.1 pH curves of different titrations (Clark, 2013)

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Jwl061 Chemistry IA SL May 2022

In most titrations, a large spike in pH occurs at equivalence, which is referred to as the point
of inflection. Halfway up this jump, the equivalency point is identified.
As previously stated, for weak acid-strong base titration, 0.500 mol dm-3 of Acetic acid as a
weak acid and 1.000 mol dm-3 of sodium hydroxide as a strong base are used. The following
is the neutralization reaction equation between these two solutions:
𝐶𝐻3 𝐶𝑂𝑂𝐻 (𝑎𝑞) + 𝑁𝑎𝑂𝐻 (𝑎𝑞) ⟺ 𝑁𝑎𝐶𝐻3 𝐶𝑂𝑂 (𝑎𝑞) + 𝐻2 𝑂 (𝑙)

When the strong base sodium hydroxide (NaOH) neutralises acetic acid (CH3COOH), the
products are the salt sodium acetate (NaCH3COO) and water (H2O).

Fig.2 Sample pH curve (Wikimedia, 2020)

At, the equivalence point, the acid and base have exactly neutralized each other, so the
solution contains salt and water only. Since, the acid is weak, the conjugate base is strong
enough to cause anion hydrolysis which means that the salts of weak acids with strong base
have a 𝑝𝐻 > 7. From the half-equivalence point at the graph, we could determine the pKa
of acid. pKa is more precise since it allows me to forecast what a molecule will do at a
certain pH. Essentially, pKa tells me what pH a chemical species must have to donate or take
a proton. The Henderson-Hasselbalch equation describes the relationship between pH and
pKa. The pH value at which a chemical species will take or donate a proton is known as the
pKa.
The lower the pKa, the more powerful the acid and the greater its ability to donate a proton
in water. (Helmenstine, 2020)
The Henderson-Hasselbalch equation is used to calculate the relationship between pKa and
pH. It is, however, simply an approximation and should not be used for concentrated
solutions or acids or bases with excessively low or high pH.

(Brown & Ford, 2016) (Helmenstine, 2020) (Wikimedia, 2020) (Clark, 2013)

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Jwl061 Chemistry IA SL May 2022

Hypothesis:
Increasing volume of NaOH should increase the pH of the weak acid leading the pKa to be at
a range of 4.0-5.0 indicating the strength of acid is weak though the system is alkaline.

Methodology:

Variables Impact upon How would the variables be controlled

Investigation
Dependent The pH pH had been constantly measured and monitored using pH
Variable constantly meter.
pH of the changes
solution after the
addition of
sodium
hydroxide.
Independent Sodium 50 ml of sodium hydroxide had been poured onto a burette.
Variable hydroxide
Volume of had been
Sodium used as a
Hydroxide
(CH3COOH)
titrant which
constitutes
to the shift
in pH.
Controlled Variable
Volume of Sodium 0.5 ml of sodium hydroxide dropped using burette onto the
sodium hydroxide analyte.
hydroxide had been
(NaOH) used used as a
per trial. titrant which
constitutes
to the shift
in pH.
Volume of Acetic acid 25 ml of acetic acid was pipetted onto a 250 ml beaker.
Acetic Acid was used as
an analyte
during this
titration
process.

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Jwl061 Chemistry IA SL May 2022

Apparatus:
5
1. pH meter datalogger 3
2. Pipette of 25 mL with pipette filler
4
3. Burette of 50 mL
1 11 10
4. A Clamp Stand
5. 2 Clamps
6. Glass funnel of 7.5 cm
7. Beakers of 250 mL and 400 mL Fig.3 Apparatus (number-labelled)

8. Glass Rod
9. 2 L of distilled water
10. 500 mL of 0.500 mol dm-3 Acetic acid
11. 500 mL of 1.000 mol dm-3 Sodium hydroxide.

Method:
1. I had clamped the burette to the clamps on the clamp stand, as shown in fig.3, to ensure
correct dispersal and precise readings.
2. Then, I filled the burette with 50 ml of 1.000 mol dm3 sodium hydroxide and positioned
an empty below to dispense any excess.
3. After that, I dispersed 25 ml of acetic acid into a 250 ml beaker using a 25 ml pipette and
a pipette filler to prevent any overflow that would mess up the readings.
5. I placed the beaker with the acetic acid solution precisely below the burette with the
sodium hydroxide solution, positioning it at the centre of the beaker to ensure that no
droplets scattered from the NaOH solution through the burette fall onto the beaker walls,
ensuring a correct reaction.
6. Then, to guarantee a good titration, I poured 0.5 mL of sodium hydroxide solution into
the beaker with the acetic acid solution and stirred it.
7. Next step, I had placed the pH electrode of the pH meter datalogger onto the beaker with
solution of acetic acid after I have added 0.5 mL of sodium hydroxide to measure the pH.
8.The pH electrode was then rinsed with distilled water to ensure that the residue did not
alter pH when measuring it for the next attempt.
9. Repeated steps 6-7 until I reached the equivalence point which I was able to determine by
the abrupt increase in pH.

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Jwl061 Chemistry IA SL May 2022

Safety:
I had to wear a lab coat, a pair of gloves, and goggles. Since I am dealing with highly
concentrated sodium hydroxide and contact with very high concentrations of sodium
hydroxide can cause severe burns to the eyes and skin.

Raw Data:
No. Of Trails 1 2 3 pH0 ∆𝑝𝐻
Volume Of NaOH pH (±0.2)
(±0.05 𝑚𝐿)
0 3.2 3.6 3.3 3.4 0.2
0.5 3.7 3.8 3.8 3.8 0.1
1.0 4.0 4.0 4.0 4.0 0
1.5 4.1 4.2 4.2 4.2 0
2.0 4.3 4.3 4.3 4.3 0
2.5 4.4 4.4 4.4 4.4 0
3.0 4.5 4.5 4.5 4.5 0
3.5 4.6 4.6 4.6 4.6 0
4.0 4.7 4.7 4.7 4.7 0
4.5 4.7 4.7 4.7 4.7 0
5.0 4.8 4.8 4.9 4.8 0.1
5.5 4.9 4.9 4.9 4.9 0
6.0 5.0 5.0 5.0 5.0 0
6.5 5.1 5.0 5.0 5.0 0.1
7.0 5.1 5.1 5.1 5.1 0
7.5 5.2 5.2 5.2 5.2 0
8.0 5.3 5.3 5.3 5.3 0
8.5 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 0
9.0 5.5 5.5 5.5 5.5 0
9.5 5.7 5.6 5.7 5.7 0
10.0 5.9 5.8 5.8 5.8 0.1
10.5 6.4 6.1 6.3 6.3 0.2
11.0 10.8 8.7 10.6 10.0 1
11.5 11.2 11.2 11.2 11.2 0
12.0 11.5 11.5 11.4 11.5 0.1
12.5 11.6 11.6 11.5 11.6 0.1
13.0 11.7 11.7 11.6 11.7 0.1
13.5 11.7 11.8 11.7 11.7 0.1
14.0 11.8 11.8 11.7 11.8 0.1
14.5 12.0 11.9 11.8 11.9 0.1
15.0 12.1 11.9 11.8 11.9 0.2

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Jwl061 Chemistry IA SL May 2022

The average pH0 is calculated as follows, with a:

𝑝𝐻1 + 𝑝𝐻2 + 𝑝𝐻3
𝑝𝐻0 =
3

10.8+8.7+10.6
Sample Calculation for pH0 = = 10.0
3

Since the variance in pH is greater than the uncertainty in pH meter, the uncertainty for pH
was calculated using the equation below:
𝑝𝐻𝑚𝑎𝑥 −𝑝𝐻𝑚𝑖𝑛
∆𝑝𝐻 = 2

A sample calculation is shown below:

11.6−11.5
∆𝑝𝐻 = 2
≈ 0.1

Processed Data:
Because the pH range across the trails is modest, I did not average the pH measurements to
determine pKa values. Instead, I used average pH to create pH curves, which I then analyzed
graphically. So here I have used Henderson-Hassel Balch Equation to calculate the pKa:
𝑨−
pKa = 𝒑𝑯 − 𝒍𝒐𝒈 ( )
𝑯𝑨

Where,
A- is conjugate base and HA is weak acid.

(Kognity, 2021)

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Jwl061 Chemistry IA SL May 2022

Sample Calculation using trail 1:

𝑨−
pKa = 𝒑𝑯 − 𝒍𝒐𝒈 (𝑯𝑨)
0.5
pKa = 4.33 – log ( 1 )

pKa = 4.33 – (-0.3)

pKa = 4.63
Note* - pH for each trail is obtained from half-equivalence point.
Propagation of uncertainties:
The uncertainty of log function was found using the following uncertainty propagation:

∆𝐴−1
log10 (𝐴−1 ) = ln(10)

2
1
∆𝑝𝐾𝑎 = √( 1 × ∆𝑝𝐻)2 + (− ( −1 −1
) × ∆𝐴 )
(𝐴 × ln(10))

Sample Calculation for uncertainty using the same trail :

1 2
∆𝑝𝐾𝑎 = √( 1 × 0.2)2 + (− ((0.5×ln(10))) × 0.05) ≈ 0.205

pKa values for each trail are given below at the table:
Trails Number pKa Uncertainty

1 4.63 0.2

2 4.54 0.2

3 4.33 0.2

0.2
Therefore, percentage uncertainty is 4.5 × 100 % ≈ 4.44%

(Oregon State University, 2021)

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Jwl061 Chemistry IA SL May 2022

Analysis:

Fig.4 pH curve after taking average pH values

From the graph, the curve of best fit goes through a range of all the data points, which
suggests an exponentially proportional relationship between the pH and the volume of
sodium hydroxide meaning that when the sodium hydroxide is added into the weak acetic
acid, the pH increases exponentially. Further, the r2 value = 0.866 or 86.6% indicates a good
a good relative predictive power meaning that there is a strong correlation between the
volume of NaOH and the pH and strengthening the reliability of the data. The curve of best
fit is computed to be:

𝑦 = 3.24𝑒 0.086𝑥

Where, y is the pH of the titrated solution and x is the volume of sodium hydroxide in ml.
This exponential relationship between the pH and the sodium hydroxide proves our
hypothesis “increasing the volume of NaOH indeed increases the pH of weak acid”. Now
looking into the data points, was able to deduce that the initial pH is high (pH of a weak
acid) and that the pH remains rather steady until equivalency, which I designated as the
buffer area. This buffer zone is referred to as an acidic buffer because it maintains a pH of
less than 7. When exactly 110.05 mL of sodium hydroxide (titrant) is added to the acetic
acid, the pH jumps to equivalency around 6.3 – 10.0. The pH rises considerably at the start
of the titration. This is because the weak acid's anion becomes a common ion, the acid's

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Jwl061 Chemistry IA SL May 2022

ionization is reduced. The curve flattens out at a high value after the equivalence point (pH
of a strong base). The pH is larger than 7 at the equivalence point because all of the acid
(CH3COOH) has been converted to its conjugate base (CH3COO-) by the addition of NaOH,
and the balance now shifts backward towards OH-, creating hydroxide. Particularly
interesting is the reaction mixture after adding 5.5 mL sodium hydroxide. Because the weak
acid's anion becomes a common ion, the acid's ionization is reduced. The curve flattens out
at a high value after the equivalence point (pH of a strong base). The pH is larger than 7 at
the equivalence point because all of the acid (CH3COOH) has been converted to its
conjugate base (CH3COO-) by the addition of NaOH, and the balance now shifts backward
towards OH-, creating hydroxide. Particularly interesting is the reaction mixture after adding
5.5 mL sodium hydroxide. It is labeled as the half-equivalence point in the graph as it
represents where exactly half of the acid has been neutralized by the base and converted
into a salt, while another half of the acid in the beaker remains unreacted. This mixture,
having equal quantities of a weak acid and its salt, is, therefore, a buffer as previously
mentioned in this paragraph. This explains why the pH in this region is shown to be
relatively resistant to change in pH when small amounts of base and why it is labeled as the
buffer region.
As a result, this supports our idea by demonstrating that the pH remains generally constant,
as indicated by the buffer zone, and that the inflection at a specific point is the equivalency,
with a pKa range of 4.0 to 5.0 indicating though the system is alkaline the solution after
acetic acid has been titrated, the strength of acid is slightly weak since, the pKa is low, the
proton is not held tightly.

Conclusion:
We can conclude that our hypothesis was correct because it was demonstrated that there is
indeed a positive correlation between the pH of the weak acid and the volume of sodium
hydroxide titrated into the weak acid, implying that the pH of acetic acid increases as the
volume of NaOH titrated into the weak acid increases. The evidence suggests that the
relationship is exponentially proportional, implying that as sodium hydroxide is titrated, the
pH rises exponentially rather than linearly, as the logarithmic nature of pH would suggest.
Furthermore, a strong correlation is revealed by the R2 value of 86.6 percent and also,
indicating the strong relative predictive power strengthen the reliability of this data . The
question “How does titrating a strong base into a weak acid affect the pH of the solution?
is answered by this analysis and confirmation of the hypothesis. Now, I would be comparing
the graph from this paper with a investigation paper called “Titration of a weak acid with a
strong base” released by a corporate author “MarkedbyTeachers”. (Marked by teachers,
2021)

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Jwl061 Chemistry IA SL May 2022

Figure.5 Graphical comparison between primary data and secondary data

1.7038−3.244
The slope for the referenced data is 1.7038, meaning that there is | 3.244
| × 100 % =
47. 5 % deviance from the obtained slope which is huge though we need to consider the
range that had been taken for the reference data by the investigator which might have
influenced the deviance from the slope. The R2-value for reference data is 0.7519 or 75.19%,
0.7519−0.866
meaning that there is | 0.7519
| × 100% = 15.2% which is not that of a huge deviance
2
from observed R when compared with the percentage error of the slope. Now, for final, the
4.75−4.5
pKa of acetic acid is 4.75, meaning that the percentage error is ⌈ 4.5
⌉ × 100% = 5.5%.
When, comparing the percentage error with the percentage uncertainty which is 4.4%, the
percentage error is slightly greater than the percentage uncertainty with a very small
difference of 1.1% indicating that there are only few systematic errors than random errors.

(Marked by teachers, 2021)

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Jwl061 Chemistry IA SL May 2022

Evaluation:
From the conclusion, it can be understood from the % error that there are few systematic
errors than random errors. The burette I had used to measure the volume of sodium
hydroxide had an uncertainty of ±0.05 𝑚𝑙 so, lack of precision when measuring sodium
hydroxide affects the pH of acetic acid which further carries an error when calculating the
pKa. The pH meter is a huge factor since, improper calibration leads to incorrect pH
measurements throughout titration which means improper titration curve and incorrect pKa
but the % error being 1.1%, the chances of this is really low though the deviance (47.5%) in
the slope arises this question, the deviance might be explained by different ranges that
might have been used by the researcher that influenced the slope of the referenced graph.
The below table shows the factors and types of errors and what could be improved:

Factors Type of Error Effect Improvements

Changes in temperature of Random Error As temperature Try to maintain a

room while opening and affects the value of Ka,
constant temperature
closing windows for it does affect the pH by keeping the beaker
ventilation of the buffer. on a thermostated hot
plate
Reading error while using Random error Might directly affect Use a well-labeled
burette and Pipette. the titration process Burette and pipette to
due to lack of ensure proper
precision. measurement after
each trial.
inconsistencies when Random error The particles in To be consistent in
stirring solution after solution might not stirring after adding
adding NaOH solution to react properly without NaOH each time
CH3COOH solution proper stirring. without failing to stir
or not stirring
properly.
.
Improper calibration of pH Systematic Error Error in pH is further To ensure proper
meter carried when calibration by myself
calculating pKa to avoid any
leading to incorrect discrepanices.
values.

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Jwl061 Chemistry IA SL May 2022

Bibliography
Brown, C. & Ford, M., 2016. Higher Level Chemistry. N/A: Pearson.
Kognity, 2021. Higher Level Chemistry. 2016 ed. N/A: Kognity.
Desmos, 2021. Titration Curve. [Online]
Available at: https://www.desmos.com/calculator/sgeirn7bzy
[Accessed 18 December 2021].
Marked By Teachers, 2014. Titration of a weak acid with a strong base. [Online]
Available at: https://www.markedbyteachers.com/international-
baccalaureate/chemistry/titration-of-a-weak-acid-with-a-strong-base.html
[Accessed 20 December 2021].
Clastify, 2018. How does increasing the number of carbon atoms in an alcohol affect
theenthalpy change of combustion of the alcohol?. [Online]
Available at: https://clastify.com/ia/chemistry/5fa091572a2f5c5bddf0b43a
[Accessed 18 December 2021].
Helmenstine, A. M., 2020. pH and pKa Relationship: The Henderson-Hasselbalch Equation.
[Online]
Available at: https://www.thoughtco.com/the-ph-and-pka-relationship-603643
[Accessed January 2022].
Clark, J., 2013. pH (TITRATION) CURVES. [Online]
Available at: https://www.chemguide.co.uk/physical/acidbaseeqia/phcurves.html
[Accessed January 2022].
Wikimedia, 2020. Titration of weak acid with strong base. [Online]
Available at:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Titration_of_weak_acid_with_strong_base.PNG
[Accessed January 2022].
Oregon State University, 2021. Propagation of Error. [Online]
Available at: https://sites.science.oregonstate.edu/~gablek/CH361/Propagation.htm
[Accessed January 2022].
Marked by teachers, 2021. Titration of a weak acid with a strong base. [Online]
Available at: https://www.markedbyteachers.com/international-
baccalaureate/chemistry/titration-of-a-weak-acid-with-a-strong-base.html
[Accessed January 2022].

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