Lab Eight

Experiment 26
Chemistry 1111-02
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
Fall 2019
Gillian Mendez

Objective:
 There were three overall objectives to the experiment; standardize a hydrochloric

acid solution, determine the solubility product of borax as a function of temperature, and

finally determine the standard free energy, standard enthalpy, and standard entropy

changes for the dissolution of borax in an aqueous solution.

Introduction:

The purpose of this experiment was to determine the thermodynamic properties

of the changes in entropy, enthalpy and free energy, as well as the solubility product of

borax as a function of temperature from the dissolution of borax in an aqueous solution.

Thermodynamic properties within the reaction allowed for the determination of the

change in heat, disorder and spontaneity within the system.

As well, it was hoped to also determine the solubility product of borax and how it

relates to temperature as a function from the formation of a borax solution (done by

dissolving borax in an aqueous solution). To begin, it is important to understand what

thermodynamics is. Put plainly, it is the study of heat and its transformations. The

properties of thermodynamics are entropy, enthalpy and free energy which can be

viewed in terms of spontaneity, or a spontaneous change of a system that occurs by

itself under specific conditions, without input of energy from the surroundings. Entropy,

(ΔS˚), is the tendency for the universe to move towards inpredictability or ‘disorder’. If

the value for entropy was negative, then the amount of disorder within a system would

decrease, thus causing the reaction to be non-spontaneous. But if the value for entropy

was positive, then the amount of disorder would increase within a system. This causes

what is known as a spontaneous reaction. Enthalpy, ΔH˚, is the total energy within a
system in relation to work and heat. If the value of enthalpy is negative, then the

reaction is exothermic while positive enthalpy values denote that the reaction is

endothermic. It important to note for the calculations that the magnitude of the enthalpy

does not determine the spontaneity of a reaction. Gibbs free energy, ΔG˚, is a

measurement of spontaneity. If the value of free energy is negative, then the reaction is

spontaneous, with a positive free energy value indicating a non-spontaneous reaction. A

chemical’s free energy change is going to be equally proportional to the equilibrium

constant according to the equation, ΔG˚=-RT lnK. The free energy change of a chemical

process is a function of enthalpy and entropy based on the equation, ΔG˚= ΔH˚ - TΔS˚.

Lastly, when the two free energy expressions are set equal to each other,

thermodynamic properties can be termined using the following the equation, ln Ksp= -

(ΔH˚/R) (1/T) + (ΔS˚/R).

Methods and Procedure:

Procedure A was skipped for this experiment.

Procedure B:

1. 5mL of deionized water was pipeted into a medium-sized test tube, with the

meniscus marked with a permanent marker. The water was discarded.

2. 30-35 grams of borax was added to 100mL of deionized water in a 125 mL

erlenmeyer flask. The solution was stoppered and agitated for several minutes in

order to saturate.

3. A second test tube was filled with the stock solution. It was then placed on a

bunsen and heated to approximately 56 degrees celsius.

5. Following the agitation, the solution was removed from the heat and allowed to

settle into temperature equilibrium.

Procedure C:

1. Using a pipette, the entirety of the settled liquid at the top of the tube was

removed from test tube and placed into a corresponding Erlenmeyer flask.

2. The sample was diluted to 25 mL with deionized water. 2-3 drops of bromocresol

green was added to the solution and the solution was titrated to the yellow

endpoint with a standardized HCL solution.

Data/Calculations:
Fig. 1) Graph denoting the information gathered from portion D (data analysis) of

the procedure with 1/T(K^-1). Full list of data values can be found attached to

report.

Results and Discussion:

This experiment’s puprose was to calculate and quantify the concentration of

borate ions formed from the dissolution of borax. Equally important, the concentration of

borate changes in regards to temperature, the change in Gibbs free energy, enthalpy

and entropy chanage from the concentration as a function of temperature was also

studied. The standardization stage was utilized in order for a precise value regarding
the concentration of hydrochloric acid to be found, so accurate measurements of the

borate ion concentration can be made by using stoichiometry and titration techniques..

The dissolution of borax can be represented by the following reaction:

Na2B4O5(OH)4·8H2O(s) ↔ 2Na1+ (aq) + B4O5(OH)4 2- (aq) + 8H2O(l)orBorax(s) ↔

2Na+(aq) + Borate2-(aq)

Therefore, the Ksp expression can be modeled as follows:Ksp=¿ In order to find

the Ksp value, titration of borax solution was undergone using a known concentration of

HCl, which was found through its standardization. Bromocresol green was utilized as an

indicator to signify the equivalence point of the borax solution and HCl. The reaction that

occurred as the titration was being carried out can be modeled in the following equation:

2HCl (aq) + B4O5(OH)42- (aq) + 3H2O (l) 4B(OH)3 (aq) + 2Cl- (aq)

This titration reaction revealed the necessary values to calculate the

concentration of the borate ions in the dissolution of borax solution from before. The

concentration was put into the Ksp expression to find the value. Following the plotting of

the data, a strong correlation between temperature and Ksp values was found. This is

likely because higher temperature equates to a higher Ksp value, which is in

accordance with the theory behind the experiment. The measure sign of ΔHº was

positive which indicates the dissolution of borax is an endothermic reaction (absorbs

surrounding energy).

Moreover, the measured sign of ΔSº was found to also be positive which

indicates the disorder of the system increases.

Conclusion::
It was discovered that higher temperatures with higher solute concentrations result in

higher Ksp values. There is a strong negative linear correlation between the natural log

of the Ksp value and the inverse of the temperature. It is possible to calculate the

enthalpy change of the dissolution by multiplying the slope of the plot constructed by the

ideal gas constant. Moreover, the entropy change can be found by multiplying the y-

intercept of the graph by the ideal gas constant. This shows that as the temperature is

increased, the reaction becomes more strongly product favored (because Ksp is larger).

The calculations carried out also prove it is an endothermic reaction, which resulted in

an increase of entropy and is non-spontaneous because the change in Gibbs free

energy was found to be a positive value.

Post Lab:

3. The solid borax reagent is contaminated with a water-soluble substance

that does not react with hydrochloric acid. As a result of this

contamination, will Ksp of the borax be reported as too high, too low, or

unaffected?

he borax would cause a diluted solution, which would require more hydrochloric

acid to be titrated. The addition of more HCl would cause the solubility product to

be higher because the molar solubility would be higher.

6. The saturated solution of borax is diluted with more than 25 ml of

deionized water. How will this dilution affect the calculated moles?
When we dilute with deionized water, the concentration, M decreases, however

at the same time volume increases. Hence the number of moles remains the

same, as number of moles = MxV