Neutralization Reaction Paper

In the late nineteenth century, acids were defined by Svante Arrhenius as substances that ionize in water to produce H+ (hydronium) ions, and bases as substances that ionize in water to produce OH- (hydroxide) ions (Chang, 2010). Arrhenius’s definition is known to be limiting thus, a broader definition was made by Johannes Bronsted. It is said that a Bronsted-Lowry acids are those that donate proton while a Bronsted –Lowry bases are those that accept proton (Bruice, 2005). When acids and bases react, a neutralization reaction occurs resulting to the formation of salts (Chang, 2010). pH is a reference of measure of how acidic or basic a particular substance is. It is defined as the negative logarithm of hydrogen ion concentration (Chang, 2010).

Aqueous solutions are electrically conducting if its solutes are electrolytes, and non-conducting if its solutes are non-electrolytes (Chang, 2010). Salts, strong acids, and strong bases are strong electrolytes because they are assumed to be dissociating its ions fully into the solution. Meanwhile, weak acids and weak bases are considered as weak electrolytes since its ions dissociate partially into the solution. Conductivity test is usually employed to test the presence of electrolytes in the solution (Chang, 2010). The presence of a strong electrolyte in the solution is usually indicated by the bright production of light in the bulb, whereas a weak electrolyte indicates a dimmer light production.
Furthermore, ionic equilibrium is an equilibrium established between partially ionized molecules of weak electrolytes and unionized molecules in the solution (Silberbeg, 2010). In an acid dissociation

Two test tube setups were compared. A 5-mL test tube, labelled as A, was filled with 1.1 mL of 1M acetic acid (HOAc). A drop of methyl red was then added. The color of the mixture was noted. Another 5-mL test tube, labelled as B, was filled with 1 mL of distilled water. A drop of methyl red was added. Also, a 0.01M hydrochloric acid (HCl) was added in a dropwise manner from a syringe until the color of the solution matches that of the first test tube setup. The volume of the HCl used was recorded for the determination of the ionization constant of