Acetic Acid Content of Vinegar

Abstract:
The purpose of this experiment is to measure the total acid concentration in a
specific brand of vinegar and to determine if the vinegar meets the minimum acetic
acid content specified by commercial law. In order to do this, we first filled up a
buret with 50 ml of NaOH solution. Then, we filled a 250 ml Erlenmeyer flask with 5
mL of vinegar and placed it on a circle of white filter paper beneath the buret setup. After that, we added 6 drops of phenolphthalein indicator to the solution in a
flask. Finally, we let the mixture in the buret drip into the flask until the vinegar
changed colors (from clear to a light pink color), and recorded the change in volume
of the NaOH that it took to change the color of the vinegar.
Conclusion:
We performed and recorded the results of this experiment four different
times. On the first run, the initial buret was 0 mL and the final reading was 21
(which means 21.0 mL of sodium hydroxide was needed to change the color of the
vinegar). On the second run, the initial reading of the buret was 0 mL and the final
was 20.0 mL (20.0 mL of sodim hydroxide was needed to change the color of the
vinegar). On the third run, the initial buret reading was 20.0 mL and the final
reading was 40.5 mL (20.5 mL of sodium hydroxide was needed to change the color
of the vinegar). On the last and final run, the initial buret reading was 27.0 and the
final reading was 47.0 (20.0 mL of sodium hydroxide was needed to change the
color of the vinegar).

Definitions:
1. Acetic Acid A clear/colorless organic acid that is used as a solvent.
2. Titration- Process that determines the concentration of a dissolved substance.
3. Phenolphthalein- An organic compound used as an indicator in the acid-base
titration.
4. Acid- A substance, when in a solution, produces hydrogen ions.
5. Base- A substance, when in a solution, produces hydroxide ions.