Answer to Question #124495 in General Chemistry for Heidi

Question

A student found during some trials that 12 mL of base was required to neutralise 1 mL of acid. Describe a method that could be used to dilute the acid to make 250 mL of the diluted acid solution so that about 20 to 30 mL of acid would neutralise 25 mL of base.
Equipment available: 250 mL volumetric flask 10 mL pipette
20 mL pipette 25 mL pipette

Answer 1

12 mL of base neutralize 1 mL of acid. In order for 20-30 mL of acid to neutralize 25 mL of base the concentration of acid should be decreased approximately 12 times. If we measure 20 mL of the acid solution (with 20 mL pipette available) and place it in the 250 mL volumetric flask, the dilution would be 250 / 20 = 12.5 times.