NAME: Brandon Ramdin
CLASS: 11C
DATE: 7/12/2024
LAB: #9
TITLE: Titration – Cleansing Agents
PROBLEM STATEMENT: The ashes obtained from the burning of plant material were used as
cleansing agents by the Babylonians more than 4000 years ago. The detergent properties of these
plant ashes are due to the presence of alkaline materials such as sodium carbonate and potassium
carbonate. Interest in the use of these plant ashes as skin cleansers is now being renewed. Plan
and design an experiment to determine whether the carbonate content of the cleansers advertised
is accurate.
HYPOTHESIS: The level of carbonate is accurately advertised..
AIM: To determine the carbonate content in cleansers using Titration.
APPARATUS:
Volumetric flasks (100 mL)
Beakers
Filter paper
Funnel
Burette
Pipette
Retort Stand
Weighing scale
MATERIALS:
Samples of each plant ash skin cleanser (Herbal Ash, Ginseng Ash, Neem Ash)
Distilled water
1 moldm-3 hydrochloric acid
Phenolphthalein indicator solution
METHOD
1. Weigh 10 grams of Herbal plant ash and dissolve it in 100ml of water in a beaker.
2. Filter the solution to remove any insoluble particles.
3. Pipette 25ml of the filtered solution into a conical flask and add a few drops of
phenolphthalein indicator.
4. Fill a burette with HCl and titrate until a colour change is observed
5. Record the initial and final readings of the burette.
6. Repeat steps 1-5 for the other two cleansers.
VARIABLES:
Controlled – Concentration of acid, volume of water, mass of plant ash
Independent – Type of Cleaner titrated
Dependent – Concentration of carbonate
DATA TO BE COLLECTED:
TABLE SHOWING VOLUMES AFTER EACH SAMPLE FOR THE THREE SKIN
CLEANSERS
Plant Ash Sample Final Volume Initial Volume Volume of
Cleanser Titrant used
Herbal 1
2
3
Ginseng 1
2
3
Neem 1
2
3
TREATMENT OF DATA:
1. Calculate the moles of HCl used for each sample based on the average volume and
concentration.
2. Calculate the moles of carbonate in the sample.
3. Convert moles of carbonate to mass.
4. Calculate the percentage of carbonate in the cleanser sample by comparing the carbonate
mass to the initial mass of the sample
INTERPRETATION OF DATA:
If the percentage of carbonate matches the advertised percentages (within a reasonable margin),
then the hypothesis is supported
ASSUMPTION:
The effect that other alkalis like hydroxides would have on the titration is negligible.
PRECAUTION:
Ensure the equipment is clean and clear of all contaminants
REFERENCES:
Libretexts. (2020, July 14). Titration. Chemistry LibreTexts.
https://chem.libretexts.org/Ancillary_Materials/Demos_Techniques_and_Experiments/
General_Lab_Techniques/Titration
Admin. (2023, August 21). What is titration? Types, titration examples, process. BYJUS.
https://byjus.com/jee/titration/
Townshend, A. (2005). TITRIMETRY | Overview. In Elsevier eBooks (pp. 105–113).
https://doi.org/10.1016/b0-12-369397-7/00625-7
