Problem statement: Kim wanted to find the ethanoic acid content of a commercial brand of vinegar.

She titrated the vinegar with standardized NaOH using methyl orange indicator. However, she
observed no colour change with the indicator.
Hypothesis: methyl orange is not a suitable indicator for a weak acid strong base reaction, that is,
it produces no colour change in a reaction between ethanoic acid and NaOH.
Aim: to determine if methyl orange is suitable indicator for the reaction between ethanoic acid and
NaOH.
Apparatus:
1. 0.1M CH3COOH
2. 0.1M NaOH
3. 50cm3 measuring cylinder
4. Conical flask
5. Burette
6. 25cm3 pipette
7. Methyl orange
8. Phenolphthalein
9. pH meter
10. Droppers
11. White tile
Method:
1. Measure 50cm3 of 0.1M NaOH using a measuring cylinder and place into a burette.
2. Pipette 25cm3 of 0.1M CH3COOH into a conical flask and place the flask on top of the
white tile.
3. Add two drops of methyl orange into the conical flask and titrate with the NaOH until a
permanent colour change occurs.
4. Record any colour changes.
5. Use a pH meter to determine the pH of the solution.
6. Repeat steps 1-5 using two drops of phenolphthalein instead of methyl orange.
7. Tabulate the results recorded.
Variables:
Controlled: concentration of NaOH, volume of CH3COOH, concentration of CH3COOH,
Manipulating: type of indicator
Responding: the colour change
Results:
Table 1: table showing the results to be obtained
 Type of indicator pH at end of reaction Colour change upon addition
of NaOH
Methyl orange
Phenolphthalein

Treatment of results:
1. Did a colour change occur with the methyl orange indicator? Explain your answer.
2. Did a colour change occur with the phenolphthalein indicator? Explain your answer.
3. Which indicator will be more suitable for a weak acid strong base reaction?
Discussion:
Because ethanoic acid is a weak acid and sodium hydroxide is a strong base, the end point of the
reaction occurs between pH 7 to 11. Methyl orange changes colour from orange to yellow at pH
3.7 hence the colour change will not occur for a weak acid-strong base titration. If this occurs the
hypothesis is proven to be accurate. Phenolphthalein changes colour from colourless to pink at pH
9.1 hence it is expected to be a suitable indicator for a weak acid-strong base titration.
This experiment may be limited by the experimenter’s ability to determine the end point (permeant
colour change) of the reaction. Precaution should be taken to ensure that some sodium hydroxide
is allowed to run out of the burette to ensure that it is properly filled. Precaution should also be
taken to ensure that the colour change is observed in front of a white background.