Theory

Acid and base are classified as weak or strong. Strong acids make strong electrolytes,
for practical purposes which are assumed to ionize completely in water. Most strong acids are
inorganic acids, for examples, hydrochloric acid, nitric acid and sulfuric acid. Weak acids are
said to ionize only partially or in other words limitedly in water. At equilibrium, the aqueous
solution of weak acids contains a mixture of non-ionized acid molecules, ions and the conjugate
base. Examples of weak are acetic acid, fluoric acid and ascorbic acid.
In order to classify these acids, a quantitave measure is conducted in order to measure the
strength of the acids which is known as the ionization constant, ka. Ionization constant is the
equilibrium constant for the ionization of an acid where it describes the ability of the acid to
ionize in a solution. The larger the value of ka the stronger the acid-which is, the greater the
concentration of
weak acids have

ions at equilibrium due to its ionization. However, it is believed that only

values associated to them.

One of the methods used to determine the ka values is called the half volume method.
In this method, basic acid-base titration is done to obtain the half-equivalence point. When a
reaction in titration reaches to the half way, at this point the value of equivalence point is termed
as half equivalence point. Equivalence point is a point where the titrant and the analyte are equal
or in other words where the concentration of the acid and the deprotonated acid are equal.

When the half-equivalence point is obtained, the value of ka can be calculated by using the
equation;

After the ka value has been calculated, the value of is compared to a table of acids with ka
values. By comparing, the type of weak acid can be determined.

DISCUSSION
Recalling the purpose of conducting this experiment which is to determine the unknown
weak acid by using the half-volume method, the acid was successfully determined. This method
enables the value of ka to be determined by preparing a solution of acid and dividing it by half as
accurate as possible. As one portion of the solution is titrated to its point, both of the solutions
were then combined which lead to the findings of the resulting pH. Since half of the acid has
been titrated, [H+] = [HA] = [A-]. Thus, if [A-] and [HA] are cancelled in the equation, Ka = [H+].
The pH of the combined solutions were then converted to [H+] to obtain a Ka value.The value of
ka obtained was then compared to a table of acids to determine the possible weak acid.
The titration of acid and base was repeated twice to obtain an average reading of the
result. In order to monitor the pH, a pH meter was used until the acid-base titration reaches its
equilibrium point. In this process, ionization process occurs in the reaction. Thus, the equation is
given by:
HA(aq)

H+(aq) +

A-(aq)

When equilibrium exists, an equilibrium constant, Ka, can be written:

[

][
[

]
]

After the results were obtained, a graph of pH versus volume of base used was plotted to
determine the half-equivalence point. From the graph, the first equivalence point obtained was
1.55mL while the equivalence point for the second titration was 1.75mL respectively. The pH at
half equivalence point for first titration is 3.8= pKa, and 3.65 = pKa for the second titration.
Thus, by further calculation, the ka value of first titration is 1.58510-4 and the value of the
second titration is 2.23910-4. In average, the value of ka for the unknown weak acid is
1.91210-4. By comparing the value of ka from the table of acids, the unknown acid given was
believed to be formic acid.

Judging based on the results obtained; there were obviously a slight difference in the first
and second titration. This is because the apparatus used might not be cleaned thoroughly before
the experiment. Thus, resulting in inaccuracy in the reading of the data collected. Another reason
that can be made is that, the pH meter used might be malfunction. This is because, even when the
same acid was used, there was a difference initial pH value obtained from the pH meter reading
which is slightly higher than the other groups pH value. Even so, average reading was taken to
increase accuracy. Lastly, there might be contamination in the acid because the acid were
handled by a few persons which causes the acid to be polluted.