Introduction
How do you find the concentration of an unknown acid? The law of conservation of mass will be observed in this lab because in a balanced or neutralized equation the number of moles of the acid is equal to the number of moles of the base. An equation that will be observed is that when an acid and a base are combined in a reaction they will produce salt and water. In order to properly conduct this lab procedure many different properties of acids and bases need to be understood. Acids have a pH lower than seven, turn litmus paper red, and when mixed with phenolphthalein remain colorless. However, when a base is mixed with phenolphthalein it turns a vibrant pink shade. Also bases have pH greater than seven and turn litmus paper blue. Bases do not react with metals, feel slippery like soap, and have a bitter taste, whereas acids do react with metal, have a sour taste, and feel smooth like water. If a titration is used to neutralize an acid or base the the molarity of the unknown can be found. In this lab the independent variable would be the volume (moles) of the titrant used and the dependent variable will be the molarity of concentration of the unknown acid. If done correctly this procedure should lead to a valid conclusion since the moles of the titrant used will equal the moles of the unknown acid that was neutralized. Once the moles and the volume of the titrant used are found then
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This would make the moles of the titrant used increase and in turn would make the calculation of the unknown concentration have an decrease in molarity.