Making Salts - Science

Aim: To produce sodium chloride salt by carrying out a neutralisation reaction. 

Equipment: 

• 50mL and 200mL beakers
• HCI (Hydrochloric Acid)
• NaOH (Sodium Hydroxide)
• 25mL measuring cylinder
• Glass stirring rod
• Spotting tile
• Universal indicator solution
• Gauze mat
• Hot plate
• Dropper

Method:

1. Using the measuring cylinder measure 10mL of HCI and pour it into your 50mL beaker. 
2. Add dilute NaOH a few drops at a time while stirring with the glass rod.  
3. Every 10-15 drops stop adding the NaOH and use the glass stirring rod to transfer a drop of the solution to a spotting tile. 
4. Test its pH level Using Universal indicator.
5. Keep adding NaOH and testing the solution by repeating step 3 and 4. 
6. As you get closer to neutral you may need to test the solution after every drop. 
7. Pour the neutral solution into an evaporation basin or use a different beaker; and evaporate the water out of the solution using the equipment set up shown above. 

Observations: During the experiment, we saw different colours appear throughout the experiment. The most common colour we saw are red and blue, which we mixed to get a neutral (green). However, we also saw other colours such as violet and yellow. 

The word equation for this reaction is: 

Acid + base --------------------------> Salt + H2O | or HCI  + NaOH ---------------------------> NaCI + H2O