Kevin Ren D/CH

ANALYSIS OF INDIGESTION TABLETS

AIM
The aim of this experiment is to find out the mass of calcium carbonate in one Tums tablet and if the
manufacturer is correct in stating there is 500mg in each tablet.

EQUATIONS
CaCO3(s) + 2HCl(aq) → CaCl2 (s) + H2O(l) + CO2(g)
NaOH(aq) +HCl(aq) → NaCl(aq) + H2O(l)

EQUIPMENT
 Mortar and Pestle
 Volumetric flask (washed with distilled water)
 Pipette
 Hydrochloric acid
 Pipette (washed with distilled water)
 Burette (washed with distilled water and rinsed with alkali)
 Sodium hydroxide
 Phenol red
 White tile

METHOD
1) Using the Mortar and pestle Crush up one Tums tablet and put all the substance into a volumetric
flask
2) Add 25cm3 of 1.250 mol dm-3 hydrochloric acid using a pipette into the volumetric flask which
already contains the solid, this should be in excess
3) Add distilled water into the mixture until it reaches 250cm3
4) Use a pipette filler to fill a pipette to obtain 25cm3 of the stock solution and put it into a conical
flask
5) Add 2 drops of phenol red into the solution
6) Fill the burette with sodium hydroxide using a funnel to make sure no liquid spills out and take
initial reading
7) Assemble equipment as show in the diagram attached
8) Add 0.1 mol dm-3 sodium hydroxide using a burette until the mixture turn from yellow to red, take
final reading
9) Repeat till concordance

ANALYSIS
10) Calculate moles of acid (HCl) that was added to the ingestion tablet by using n=cv
11) Calculate the moles of sodium Hydroxide(NaOH) used using n=cv
12) Calculate the moles of left over acid in the stock solution
Kevin Ren D/CH

13) Calculate the moles of acid that reacted with the calcium carbonate in the tablet
14) Calculate the moles of the calcium in the tablet
15) Calculate the mass of calcium in the tablet

POSSIBLE ERRORS
 There is a equipment error when using the equipment used in the process, this includes volumetric
flask ± 0.1cm3, 25cm3 pipette ± -.1cm3 and burette (taking into account start and end readings and
end point) ±0.15cm3. These errors are very hard to and there are few ways of avoiding them but
making sure to be careful when we measure columns should help reduce the error.
 When measuring volumes when using the burette we need to make sure we measure form the
meniscus to make sure we get an accurate reading while also keeping the burette on a stationary
flat plane as well as measuring from eye level.
 When washing out the equipment we should make sure to was it with distilled water instead of
tap water, as the chemicals in tap water may effect of results by making the solution more acidic
or alkali than necessary.
 We also need to make sure not to add more phenol red as it could change the pH of the solution
which will give less accurate results.
 When we add the sodium hydroxide into the burette we should make sure to take the funnel after
we have finished as the liquid left in the funnel may drip down into the burette make it seem we
have used less sodium hydroxide affecting our accuracy
 There could also be an error when transferring the tablet into the volumetric flask because some
may still be left over in the mortar and pestle, to avoid this error we could wash the remaining
contents out with distilled water to make sure we get all of the tablet.

WHY WE USED A BACK TITRATION

Back titrations are used on solids which are insoluble in water or only partially soluble therefore
conventional titration procedures cannot be used. Back titration are used as they can react with an
excess of acid which make a quick reaction. This excess of acid can then be measured using titration.
Form the volume and concentration of alkali used we can find the concentration, purity or mass of the
original solid.

RISK ASSESSMENT
 Chipped or broken glassware may be present and this can be very dangerous as it may scratch or
cut people and therefore cause injuries, to avoid this we could make sure to inspect all equipment
before use and also have a procedure set up to deal with broken glassware.
 We are using some dangerous chemicals such as hydrochloric acid which can irritant when it
touches it skin and also very dangerous if swallowed. TO help protect us form this risk we should
make sure to wear eye protection in the form of goggles and avoid contact with mouth skins and
eyes. We should also make sure to wash out equipment.
 When using liquids, we are prone to the liquid spilling on the floor, this can be a danger because
it may cause people to slip, to help avoid this issue we should be very careful when using it to
make sure not to spill any and use a funnel when filling the burette. We should also make sure to
leave a small air gap when using the funnel to make sure the liquid can enter the burette.
Kevin Ren D/CH

 We are also using another dangerous chemical in sodium hydroxide which can be harmful when
swallowed and also may cause irritation when it comes into contact with skin and also inhaling the
fumes can be very harmful. To help avoid this we can make sure to avoid breathing its vapors and
also wear eye protection to make sure it doesn’t get into anyone’s eyes
 When using the pipette, we should also make sure to hold the pipette by the slim part as oppose
to the thick round part, this is because the large part is the thinnest and so most prone to snapping
or breaking
 When filling the burette, we should also make sure to lower the stand so that it is easier to fill and
less likely to spill some alkali.

WHY DO INGREDIENTS NEED TO BE ANALYZED?

Ingredients need to be by independent sources to make sure that the end product is exactly as advertised
by the company making them. Many companies may like to make up fake numbers in order to gain more
sales and make false promises to the ingredients of the medicines. This can lead to problems if they are
lying especially in medicine as people could be using it incorrectly or in incorrect quantities which could
lead to injuries or ill health. This makes it important to analyse what is actually in them to make sure that
it is what the company that makes them have said they are.

REFERENCES
 http://chemsheets.co.uk/Chemsheets%20AS%20068%20(Titration%20-
%20Analysis%20of%20indigestion%20tablets).pdf
 http://www.ausetute.com.au/backtitration.html
 http://www.titrations.info/back-titration
Kevin Ren D/CH
Kevin Ren D/CH