CH 222

Title: Quality Control of Zinc in Cold-Eeze Lozenges via Quantitative Chemical Analysis Purpose: Determining the amount of zinc in randomly sampled Cold-Eeze lozenges through a pedagogical approach of instrument introduction was crucial for building future lab expertise. Making precise starting conditions for the separate trials and practicing titration techniques, which includes accurately reading a meniscus, were all critical for building strong fundamental application skills in the chemistry laboratory. Procedure: Our first step was to determine the endpoint color of the titration reaction, we added a couple drops of indicator (0.1% Xylenol Orange) into 25mL of prepared pH 5.5 acetate buffer. Our second phase was to dissolve a 13.3mg Cole-Eeze lozenge in 50mL of a pH 5.5 acetate buffer (already prepared for us). We gathered a 100mL beaker and dissolved one Cold-Eeze with the aid of a hot plate plus a metal stir-rod. Once the lozenge melted the solution was taken off the hot plate to cool to room temperature. When the zinc solution reached about 25C we added a couple drops of indicator. This phase was sequentially repeated. Our third step was to titrate EDTA (0.01005mol prepared solution) into the zinc solution. This was done slowly, closely watching for color change to match the color of the buffer-indicator solution. The initial and final amount of EDTA were recorded. This procedure was done a second time following the same steps. Data and Observations: The amount of zinc in each Cold-Eeze lozenge, as stated on the package was 13.3 mg. When 0.1% xylenol orange indicator was added to the zinc solution the color changed from cloudy to a pink hue. After adding the approximated amount of EDTA, it changed to a yellow hue. We predicted that we would need to add 20.24mL EDTA to remove free zinc, using the following calculation:

Group Initial Reading of Pipet Kathryn and Chris 0.0 mL 0.0 mL Ella and RJ 12.61 mL

Final Reading 22.56 mL 22.00 mL 32.22 mL

Amount EDTA Added 22.56 mL 22.00 mL 19.61 mL

19.58 mL

41.89 mL

22.31 mL

The calculation used to find the amount zinc in each lozenge started by using the mL of EDTA solution added to graduated cylinder to change color from pink to yellow: ( ) ( )

This gives us the amount of EDTA added in moles. Since the chemical reaction for the formation of the Zn-EDTA complex is a 1:1 ratio, the answer in moles is the same as the amount of moles of zinc in solution (assuming that the amount of titrant added quenched all the zinc with the very last drop). The following calculation was used to find the mg of zinc in the solution: ( Results: Using the calculation previously stated in the report, the amount of zinc in each solution was not 13.3 mg. Amount of Zinc in Solution 14.75 mg Zn 14.38 mg Zn 12.82 mg Zn 14.59 mg Zn Discussion and Conclusions: Our groups data, as shown above, is contradictory to the amount of zinc prescribed on the packaging. There are several reasons as to why this could be so. The package could be incorrectly labeled, or the average amount per package per Cold-Eeze lozenge could be imprecise. Some of the possible sources of error for the volumetric analysis could have been made in part by reading the meniscus from a misleading angle from the burette causing an inaccurate record, over-dropping the titrant a little bit at the end of the titration (or under dropping as in the case for the trial with only 12.82 mg Zn), or not having the solution thoroughly mixed so that each trial roughly had the same probability for causing the Zn-EDTA complex within the same timeframe. This relates back to the purpose of using instruments properly, we need to pay attention to the reagent being added, for a little bit over/under makes a difference. As for the indicator being used, we need to be able to stop exactly where the color changesfor the amount of moles to be accurately deduced. Average amount of Zn 14.14 mg ) ( )