Heather Elia

ESTIMATION OF TITRABLE ACIDITY OF MILK

Abstract:
In this experiment the acidity in milk is measured. This is done with
the titration of a prepared 0.1 N NaOH solution. This NaOH solution will
indicate the consumption of NaOH that is needed to change the pH
value of fresh milk (6.4-6.8) to the pH value of the phenolphthalein
(8.2-8.4). The titrable acidity of milk is usually expressed as a
percentage of lactic acid. The percent acidity of fresh cows milk is
0.13 0.14%. So if the percent acidity is more than 0.14%; then we
know our milk is far more acidic than it should be and therefore it
would be considered as spoiled. After the milk experiment was
performed, our group ended up with .18% acidity and a pH of 8.74.
This percentage shows that the milk used in the experiment was very
acidic and therefore might have been spoiled.

Introduction:
The purpose of this experiment was to estimate the acidity of milk.
Acidity is measurement of acid content in food. There are various
types of acidity, it can be naturally occurring in foods or it can be
developed by actions of microorganisms, like what occurs in milk. Milk
is a natural occurring buffer. Fresh milk is amphoteric; which means
milk can act as an acid or a base. Cows milk is slightly acidic with the

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pH of 6.4- 6.8 whereas the pH of phenolphthalein is 8.2-8.4. The
acidity is caused by the presence of casein, acid phosphate, and
citrates that are all found in milk. Developing of acidity is caused by
lactic acid formation as a result of bacterial growth. Lactic acid does
not occur in fresh milk, the lactic acid is the result of fermentation by
bacteria in milk. There is a direct relationship with the amount of
bacteria and the acidity of milk. The development of acidity in milk is
marked if milk is not cooled. Therefore we predict that the pH of the
milk after titration will be between 8.2 and 8.4.

Materials:

50mL 1.0 N NaOH (.4g NaOH + 100 mL H2O stock)

5mL milk at room temperature for 24 hours

4-5 drops 0.1% Phenolphthalein

1 Flask

1 Conical flask

1 Burette

pH meter with electrodes

Scale

Stirrer

Hot plate

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Heather Elia
Methods:
1. Prepare 0.1 NaOH by adding .4g NaOH into 100 mL of H2O stock
solution and mixing with a stirrer on a hot plate (heat off) until
fully dissolved within the water
2. Put 50 mL of 0.1 NaOH into a burette carefully
3. Pipette 5mL of milk in a conical flask
4. Add 5 drops of phenolphthalein as the indicator into the milk
5. Release 1.0 N NaOH from the burette into the flask with the milk
and the pH indicator and titrate
6. Titrate very slowly (drop-wise) and stir flask with milk in it as you
are titrating
7. Titrate until the end point of pink color
8. Note down your final reading: Titre value = Final reading Initial
Reading
9. Determine the pH by putting a pH electrode in the flask and
reading the pH meter
10.

Calculate the % acidity using:

% Acidity = Titre Value x Equivalent Weight of acid x Normality of NaOH x100
Volume of Sample x 1000

Results:
Molecular Weight of NaOH= 40g/mol
X
= .1 N
40g
(stock)

X= (4g/L)
=> .4g NaOH/ 100mL
100mL
=> .4 g NaOH + 100mL of H2O

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Heather Elia
***So, the calculation made for the amount of grams of NaOH needed
to prepare 1.0 N NaOH was .40 grams in addition to the 100mL of
H2O= 1.0 N NaOH
***Next, 5 drops of phenolphthalein was added to the milk and titration
began with the prepared 1.0 N NaOH
***The initial value and the final value were recorded. The final value
indicates the amount that the burette was at one the milk hit an end
point.
Titre value = Final reading Initial Reading
Titre value =
1 mL

0 mL
=> 1 mL
Chemical
name

Formula

lactic acid

C3H6O3

Molecular
weight
g/mol
90.08

Equivalent
weight
g/equiv
90.08

Next, the % acidity was measured:

% Acidity = Titre Value x Equivalent Weight of acid x Normality of NaOH x100
Volume of Sample x 1000
% Acidity = [(Volume of NaOH titrated x 90g/mol x N of NaOH) x 100
(Vol of milk sample x 1000)]
% Acidity = 1 mL x 90.08 g/mol x 1.0 N NaOH x100
5mL milk x 1000
% Acidity = 900.8/5000

% Acidity= .18
*** The percent acidity of fresh cow milk is 0.13 0.14%. This
percentage was slightly higher; .18% meaning that this was more
acidic and lactic acid was produced.
pH measure with the pH meter= 8.74
*** This indication is slightly higher then the values 8.2-8.4.
Slight error may have occurred.

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Heather Elia

Discussion:
A burette is a good apparatus for the determination of an equivalence
point or end point in an acid-base titration because you can accurately
read the volume of solution used. Phenolphthalein is a good indicator
since it helps to determine the acidity of the solution by changing color
when a base is added to the solution. As seen from our results for
calculating % Acidity it showed it was higher than a fresh cows milk
which is only between .13 - .14 %. Our results showed that the acidity
was .18%, which showed that acidity increased. Acidity increased
because microorganisms were active. These microorganisms were
developed because the fresh milk was not cooled throughout the night,
therefore producing lactic acid. The lactic acid increased the acidity of
the milk, which was proven by the % acidity equation. This shows our
milk was more acidic than its supposed to be and was spoiled. Our %
acidity value was compared with another groups values as well. The
comparison was .18% and .24%. The difference is .6% difference
between our two groups. This difference could have been caused by
human error that occurred within the experiment. The next result that
was also compared with another group was the reading of the pH after
titration. Our groups result for the pH was 8.74 and the other groups
result for the pH was 8.94. Both, groups results were off as compared

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Heather Elia
to the accepted values of 8.2-8.4. This too is a result of human error.
Human error could have occurred due to contamination of the
equipment, which can be responsible in expressing a different acidity
or pH then expected. Other possible errors could be incorrectly
identifying the endpoint or overshooting the endpoint. This would have
been a very important factor because just one drop of solution from
the burette can make a major pH change in the mixed solution. Other
errors could have been if there is inaccuracy in the markings of the
burette as well as misreading the balance or measuring
incorrectly/improperly throughout the experiment. All of these errors
could result with a different reading for either/both the % acidity and
the pH. It is very difficult to determine where the errors came from,
but with calculation it is clear that errors did occur somewhere within
the experiment and the hypothesis of the pH ranging from 8.2-8.4 was
false.
Acknowledgements:
Professor Lisa Lucente
Group members:
Andrew Nobani
Michael Peres
Mirela Budmir
Ratai Naoum
Bibliography:
Lecture 5 Acidity
Experiment document on estimation of titrable acidity of milk
http://www.tempeh.info/fermentation/lactic-acid-fermentation.php
http://www.niro.com/niro/cmsdoc.nsf/webdoc/ndkw5y8f82
http://lrs.ed.uiuc.edu/students/mihyewon/chemlab_instruction.html

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