Abstract

The acid ionization constant, Ka, is a quantitative measure of the strength of

an acid a solution and commonly expressed in units of mol/L. For reference, there
are table of Ka values for weak acids to identify the acid based on the value of Ka
and pKa.

This experiment examined is to determine the value of Ka and identify the

unknown acid solution. To obtain an unknown weak acid, 15mL of 0.1M unknown
acid solution diluted with 90mL of distilled water. Titration was done by adding 1mL
by 1mL of NaOH to the diluted unknown acid to achieve standardized of NaOH
solution. The experiment was repeated three times to achieve accurate and precise
graph from the recorded data.

The equivalence point can be found on the graph plotted which is pH versus
volume of sodium hydroxide, NaOH. By plotting the titration curve, we managed to
find the equivalence point and half-equivalence point that give the volume of NaOH
and pH value. The equivalence point of the graph is 19.69 mL with 8.53
corresponding pH. The half-equivalence point of the graph is 9.845 mL with 5.2
corresponding pH. The pH value of the half-equivalence point is used as pKa and
lastly to calculate the Ka.

2 methods of calculation have been applied to calculate the value for Ka. The
first method is by using graph whereas the second is by using the initial pH of the
unknown acid solution. The value of Ka for the first is 6.3096 x 10-6 whereas for
the second method is 2.453 x 10-8. The unknown acid solution had been identified as
pyridine with theoretical value Ka of 5.90x10-6.

The percentage error is calculated for determining the precision of your

calculations. For the first and the second method, the percentage error is 6.9424%
and 99.2792%. Therefore, the value of Ka by using the first method is more accurate
than method 2 due to lower percentage error.
Conclusion

As a conclusion, the value of Ka had been determined and the unknown acid
solution was identified. By plotting the graph of volume of NaOH(mL) versus pH
value, the equivalence point was obtained which is 19.69 mL with corresponding pH
of 8.53. From this point, the half-equivalence point was determined as 9.845 mL with
corresponding pH of 5.2. The pH value of half-equivalence point was then used to
calculate the Ka for the first method to determine the value of Ka and identify the
unknown solution which is by using the graph. The Ka value obtain from the first
method is 6.3096 x 10-6 and the unknown solution was identified as pyridine by
theoretical value Ka of 5.90x10-6.

As for the second method, by using the average of initial pH value , Ka was
calculated which is 4.253 X 10⁻⁸ M and identified as Hypochlorous Acid. The
percentage error obtained from the first method is 6.9424% whereas for the second
method is 99.2792%. Hence, the value of Ka from the first method is more accurate
compared to the second method. The unknown acid is identified as pyridine and the
value of Ka is 6.3096 x 10-6.

Determine Ka using Intial Ph of the Unknown Acid Solution

Reference

(Budgets, n.d.)Budgets, U. (n.d.). Appendix 1: Normality Appendix 2: Propagation of

Uncertainty and Uncertainty Budgets Appendix 3: Single-Sided Normal
Distribution Appendix 4: Critical Values for the, 1067–1102.

https://www.academia.edu/35240273/CHE485_-
_Lab_Report_on_Determination_of_The_Ka_Value_Of_A_Weak_Acid_2017_

Syahiirah, N. (2017). CHE485 - Lab Report on Determination of The Ka Value Of A Weak Acid (2017).
25.