Antacid Analysis
Abstract In this experiment, there were four different medicines, or antacids specifically, which are listed as the following: Alkaseltzer, Medi-First, Gelusil, and Alcalk. The main objective was to determine which antacid out of the four was the most effective in terms of the one that will neutralize the larger volume of hydrochloric acid (HCl). Each type of medicine was crushed using a mortar and pestle, and then dissolved in its own beaker of 100 mL of HCl. The solution was carefully stirred to aid the dissociation process. Four drops of phenolphthalein were added to the acid. Using a burette, 4 mL of NaOH was inserted drop by drop in to the beaker, and then was continuously added in until a pale pink color appeared in…show more content… The purpose of antacids is to relieve heartburn or indigestion. [1] There are several different brands of antacids, but their level of effectiveness may differ among each other. Therefore, the main goal of this experiment was to discover which type of antacid (four different types were given: Alkaseltzer, Medi-First, Gelusil, and Alcalk) proved to be the most efficient in neutralizing the hydrochloric acid, or stomach acid. In order to achieve this goal, the volume of excess hydrochloric acid neutralized by each type of antacid needed to be found and then establish a comparison among the four different volumes to see which antacid had the largest volume (in milliliters). The concept of titration is also necessary for this experiment. Titration is a technique where a solution of known concentration is gradually added to a solution of unknown concentration until neutralization has been achieved, which is normally detected by a color change. [2] For further understanding of this experiment, the conception of pH can be utilized in this case. The pH of stomach acid is low, which means that antacids play a role in increasing the pH of the acid. As a result, the stomach acid becomes more basic. [3] Therefore, the effectiveness of an antacid can be determined by how much the pH is raised in relation to neutralizing the…show more content… Medi-First was the antacid tested in this particular experiment. The Medi-First was crushed using a mortar and pestle, and the powder was poured into a beaker filled with 100 mL of hydrochloric acid (HCl). The solution was carefully stirred to quicken the dissociation process. Then a total of four drops of phenolphthalein was added to the solution. Phenolphthalein served as an indicator. Afterwards, a burette was utilized in order to dispense the base, sodium hydroxide (NaOH), into the hydrochloric acid solution for the titration process. Five initial drops of sodium hydroxide was added and then gradually continued until a pale pink color appeared in the solution. An approximate amount of 5.3 mL of NaOH was needed to establish the pink appearance. Given the molarities of the acid and base (.15 M of HCl and .25 M of NaOH) and the volume of the base (5.3 mL of NaOH), the equation M1V1 = M2V2 was used to calculate the volume of excess hydrochloric acid from the solution. This was found to be 8.83