School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences

CHEM1090
Workshop Series 2020

CHEM1090 Virtual Laboratory

Welcome to the Virtual CHEM1090 Laboratory 

In this activity we will try and replicate what you would have had chance to discover in the
laboratory session.

There are three tasks:

 Complete a virtual titration exercise to understand the process and safety steps involved in a
titration.

 Complete a virtual laboratory replicating the activity that you would have completed in the
lab.

 Using your stoichiometry knowledge and calculation skills, calculate the concentration of an
unknown solution.

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 School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences
CHEM1090
Workshop Series 2020

Introduction
Unfortunately, we won’t get the opportunity to invite you into the first year teaching laboratory for the
usual lab based activity in CHEM1090. Hopefully we will see some of you in the lab in the future if you
continue with CHEM1100 or CHEM1221 in semester 2.

For this ‘virtual’ lab we have tried to replicate some of the usual experiences gained. The tasks that you
will complete will allow you to further understand titrations, one of the key skills that chemists use in the
lab to determine the amount of an unknown compound or ion in a solid or solution. Titration methods
are used every day within the chemistry, food and pharmaceutical industries to support quality and purity
processes within manufacturing. If we are buying a product or taking a method, we need to have the
confidence to know that what is on the label is what we are getting!

All these tasks will also help to back up what you have learned in the Acids and Bases and Redox sections
of the course. The calculation question will also help you to practice your equation balancing and
rearrangement skills, and will use equations with which you should now be familiar.

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 School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences
CHEM1090
Workshop Series 2020

Task 1: Acid-base titration

In this part of the workshop you will complete an on-line exercise that shows how to set up an acid-base
titration, takes you through key safety aspects of a titration and steps you through the steps to complete
a successful titration.

Look out for the key points in the exercise, think about how it relates to what you learned in the Acids and
Bases lectures and then answer the question below;

To find the exercise:

1. Go to: http://www.rsc.org/learn-chemistry/resources/screen-experiment/titration/experiment/2

2. Click on ‘Quickstart’. You don’t need to Log In or Register on the site.

3. Choose ‘Titration Level 1’. Complete all the steps in the exercise. You are not assessed on the
points scored within the exercise, don’t worry if you get a question wrong. You can try the
exercise as many times as you wish.

Once you have completed all the exercise, answer the following question:

In one of the steps, you added water to a volumetric flask to make a sodium hydroxide solution. If you
added too much water, so that it went over the line on the flask, you were told to restart.

Why could you not just take some of the solution out of the flask so that the bottom of the meniscus
was on the line?

ANS: Adding water to a titrant (sodium hydroxide solution) will change the concentration of the solution.
The molarity of the solution is equal to the number of moles of solvent per litre of solution. When water is
added to the solution, the number of moles of solvent remains unchanged while increasing the volume.
Hence, the solution is diluted since the molarity decreases. If too much water is added to the titrant (sodium
hydroxide solution) (i.e. overshooting the calibration line), which the bottom of the meniscus will be above
the calibration line, which the molarity of analyte (hydrochloric acid) will be smaller. Since overshooting
would result in a higher final volume reading in the burette, this would decrease the molarity of analyte
(hydrochloric acid) by adding a larger value to the denominator in the mol dm−3 expression. This explains
that since more water is added, the volume increases and the molarity has become different, it will not
change the results even if some of the solution is taken out and the bottom of the meniscus was on the line.

(1 mark)

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 School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences
CHEM1090
Workshop Series 2020

Task 2: Determining the amount of iron in a dietary supplement tablet

This time you will complete a simulation describing a redox titration and answer a question based on your
learning. This is the same titration that you would have completed in our lab if the semester had run as
normal. It’s a great way to revise your redox knowledge and to understand the steps involved in a
different style of titration to the usual acid-base titration.

To find the exercise:

1. Go to: http://www.rsc.org/learn-chemistry/resources/screen-experiment/titration/experiment/2

2. Click on ‘Quickstart’. You don’t need to Log In or Register on the site.

3. Choose ‘Titration Level 4’. Complete all the steps in the exercise. You are not assessed on the
points scored within the exercise, don’t worry if you get a question wrong. You can try the
exercise as many times as you wish. Take notes if necessary, Task 3 will also be based on this
simulation!

Once you have completed the exercise answer the following question:

In the acid-base titration, an indicator was added to the reaction solution so that the end point of the
titration could be identified.

Why was an indicator not required for this titration? How could the end point of the reaction be
identified?

If you prefer, include any diagrams or equations that support your answer.

ANS: Potassium permanganate (KMnO4) is a strong oxidizing agent. Permanganate (MnO₄⁻) is dark in
+2
purple, when the purple permanganate ion is reduced to the colourless Mn ion, the solution will change
from dark purple to pink at the equivalent point. Therefore, no other indicators is required for this titration.
It can act as self-indicator to detect its end point. The end point could be identified by the appearance of
pink colour.

Equation : 2KMnO4 +3H2S04 + 5H2C2O4 = 2MnSO4 + K2SO4 + 10CO2 + 8H2O

Ionic equation : 2MnO4– + 16H+ + 5C2H42- → 2Mn2+ + 10CO2 + 8H2O

(1 mark)
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 School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences
CHEM1090
Workshop Series 2020

Task 3: Redox Titration Calculations

In this task you will follow on from the virtual titration and complete a set of calculations to identify the
unknown iron concentration in a liquid iron supplement. This uses student data from the 2019 practical
sessions, where the students completed the same redox titration shown in the simulation that you
completed in Task 2. You should now be familiar with the formulae used in titration calculations, though
you may not have used them in this application.

Re-watch the Redox titration from Task 2 while completing this task. You may also want to read the
practical procedures from the ‘normal’ laboratory session in 2019, available on Blackboard.

The two balanced half-reactions from the redox titration are given in the table below. Identify the
reduction reaction and which is the oxidation reaction.

Oxidation or
Half-reaction
Reduction?
Reduction
MnO4-(aq) + 8 H+(aq) + 5 e-  Mn2+(aq) + 4 H2O(l)
Oxidation
Fe2+(aq)  Fe3+(aq) + e-

This is the overall reaction:

MnO4-(aq) + 5Fe2+(aq) + 8H+(aq)  Mn2+(aq) + 5Fe3+(aq) + 4H2O(l)

You should now be familiar with the formulae used in titration calculations, though you may not have
used them in this environment.

n = cV
n = m/M
n = number of moles (mol)
n = number of moles (mol)
c = concentration (mol L-1)
m = mass (g)
V = volume (L)
M = molar mass

On the following page are results from a student group titration in 2019. Complete the table from the
data provided. Use the reaction stoichiometry and the equations above to help you.

Remember to show your working and include units in your answers.

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 School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences
CHEM1090
Workshop Series 2020

Hint Result
Volume of iron
Volume of supplement
supplement used in the 10 mL
solution (mL)
titration

Initial volume potassium The bottom of the

permanganate solution in meniscus of the liquid in 30.05 mL
burette (mL) the burette at the start

The bottom of the

Final volume potassium
meniscus of the liquid in
permanganate solution in 15.45 mL
the burette after the end
burette (mL)
point

Volume potassium Look back at the 30.05 mL - 15.45 mL

permanganate solution simulations, how was
used (mL) this calculated? = 14.6 mL

Concentration of
Concentration of
potassium
potassium permanganate 0.01 mol L-1
permanganate solution
(mol L-1)
used in the titration

14.6 mL
0.01 mol L-1 x
Moles potassium You know the 1000
permanganate solution in concentration and
this volume volume from above. = 0.000146 mol
= 14.6 x 10-5 (mol)
Look back at the
Ratio of Fe2+ : MnO4- equation on the previous 5:1
page

Moles Fe2+ in the volume of Use the ratio of Fe2+ : 14.6 x 10-5 x 5
supplement solution MnO4- from the balanced
titrated equation = 7.3 x 10-4 (mol)

Look back at the 7.3 x 10-4 x 55.85

Mass Fe in 10 mL
equation on the previous
supplement solution (g) = 0.0407705 g
page

10mL of water contain 0.0407705g of Fe

This is how it is usually =10mL of water contain 40.7705mg of Fe

Mass Fe in 100 mL
supplement solution declared on a label 100mL = 40.7705mg x 10
(mg/100 mL) 1 g = 1000 mg = 407.705 mg
 407.705mg/100mL
(3 marks)

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