Name: .........................................

Class: ..........................................

Part A /10

2024 Part B /40

HIGHER SCHOOL CERTIFICATE Total /50
MODULE EXAMINATION
ACID/BASE REACTIONS Percentage %

Chemistry

General Instructions
Total marks − 50
Reading time − 5 minutes
Working time − 1 hour and 30 minutes
Write using blue or black pen Part A Pages 2 − 4
Black pen is preferred 10 marks
Draw diagrams using pencil Attempt Questions 1 − 10
Board-approved calculators may be used Allow about 17 minutes for this part
A data sheet and a Periodic Table are
provided at the back of this paper Part B Pages 5 − 13
Write your name and class at the top of 40 marks
this page Attempt Questions 11 − 17
Allow about 1 hour and 13 minutes for this part

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Part A: Multiple Choice Questions (10 marks)
Attempt Questions 1 − 10
Allow about 17 minutes for this part

Use the multiple choice answer sheet for Questions 1 − 10.

1. A B C D
2. A B C D
3. A B C D
4. A B C D
5. A B C D
6. A B C D
7. A B C D
8. A B C D
9. A B C D
10. A B C D

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1. A student wishes to use a combination of common indicators to check the pH of pool water.
The ideal pH of pool water is 7.8 to prevent corrosion of metal and irritation of skin.

Which combination of indicators is most suitable to confirm that the pH is correct?

(A) Litmus and phenolphthalein
(B) Methyl orange and litmus
(C) Methyl orange and bromothymol blue
(D) Bromothymol blue and phenolphthalein

2. A chemist took 10.0 mL of a potassium hydroxide solution with a pH of 11.20 and diluted it
with distilled water to a volume of 250.0 mL in a volumetric flask.

This dilution will cause the pH of the solution to:

(A) Decrease to 9.80
(B) Decrease to 10.10
(C) Increase to 12.30
(D) Increase to 12.60

3. A 2.50 g sample of solid barium carbonate was added to 100.0 mL of 0.200 mol L–1 nitric acid.

What volume of gas is produced from this reaction at 0 C and 100 kPa?
(A) 0.227 L
(B) 0.248 L
(C) 0.454 L
(D) 0.496 L

4. In which of the following sets are all the species amphiprotic under standard conditions?
(A) ZnO PbO Al2O3

(B) HS– NH4+ C6H7O7–

(C) H2PO4– H2O C6H6O72–

(D) HPO42– HCO3– CH3COO–

5. The most effective buffer solution can be formed by mixing together equal volumes of:
(A) 0.1 mol L–1 nitric acid and 1 mol L–1 potassium nitrate solutions
(B) 1 mol L–1 hydrochloric acid and 1 mol L–1 sodium chloride solutions
(C) 0.1 mol L–1 acetic acid and 1 mol L–1 sodium acetate solutions
(D) 1 mol L–1 carbonic acid and 1 mol L–1 potassium hydrogen carbonate solutions

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 6. Which of the following statements involving the H2PO4– ion is correct?
(A) H2PO4– is the conjugate base of HPO42–
(B) PO43– is the conjugate base of H2PO4–
(C) H2PO4– is the conjugate acid of HPO42–
(D) HPO42– is the conjugate acid of H2PO4–

7. In an experiment, 20.0 mL of 0.50 mol L–1 hydrochloric acid was mixed with 20.0 mL of
0.50 mol L–1 sodium hydroxide solution. The final temperature of the resultant mixture was
27.4 C. The molar enthalpy of neutralisation for this reaction is −57 kJ mol–1.

If there was no heat loss, what is the approximate initial temperature of the solutions before
mixing?
(A) 20.6 C
(B) 24.0 C
(C) 30.8 C
(D) 34.2 C

8. When a 25.00 mL aliquot of a 0.100 mol L–1 weak monoprotic acid was titrated with a sodium
hydroxide solution, 11.20 mL was required to completely neutralise the acid.

What volume of the same sodium hydroxide solution would be needed to completely neutralise
a 25.00 mL aliquot of a 0.100 mol L–1 strong diprotic acid?
(A) Less than 22.40 mL
(B) 22.40 mL
(C) More than 22.40 mL
(D) Unable to determine unless the degree of ionisation of the weak acid is known

9. Propanoic acid is a weak monoprotic acid. The pH of a 0.30 mol L–1 propanoic acid solution is
2.70.

What is the pKa of propanoic acid?

(A) 4.87
(B) 5.05
(C) 7.00
(D) 9.51

10. The pH of two unknown 0.10 mol L–1 salt solutions (NaX and NaY) were measured. The pH
of NaX was 8.50 while the pH of NaY was 9.20.

Which of the following statements is correct?

(A) X– has a lower pKb than Y–
(B) HX has a lower pKa than HY
(C) Both salts are basic since Na+ ions react with water to produce NaOH
(D) A 0.10 mol L–1 HX solution would have a higher pH than a 0.10 mol L–1 HY solution

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Part B: Short Answer Questions (40 marks)
Attempt Questions 11 − 17
Allow about 1 hour and 13 minutes for this part

Answer the questions in the spaces provided. These spaces provide guidance for the expected
length of response.

Show all relevant working in questions involving calculations.

Question 11 (4 marks)
Two test tubes, labelled as A and B, contain different salt solutions of the same concentration.
One is known to contain ammonium nitrate while the other contains sodium acetate. A series
of acid-base indicators are used to distinguish the two solutions. These are listed in the table
below with the relevant pH ranges and colour changes.

Indicator pH range Colour (low pH) Colour (high pH)

Bromocresol green 3.8 − 5.4 Yellow Blue
Methyl yellow 2.9 − 4.0 Red Yellow
Thymol blue 8.0 − 9.6 Yellow Blue
Thymolphthalein 9.3 − 10.5 Colourless Blue

When the two solutions were tested with the above indicators, the following results were
obtained:

Indicator Test tube A Test tube B

Bromocresol green Green Blue
Methyl yellow Yellow Yellow
Thymol blue Yellow Green
Thymolphthalein Colourless Colourless

(a) Identify the narrowest possible pH range for the salt solutions in each test tube. 2

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(b) Explain which test tube contains ammonium nitrate. Include a relevant chemical equation 2
in your answer.

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Question 12 (8 marks)
A student was asked to standardise a solution of sodium hydroxide by titrating it against a
benzoic acid (C6H5COOH) primary standard solution. Benzoic acid is a monoprotic acid with
a pKa of 4.20. The procedure used by the student is outlined below.

1. A conical flask was rinsed with distilled water.

2. A 25.0 mL pipette was rinsed with distilled water.
3. A pipette filler was used to fill the pipette with the benzoic acid solution until the base of
the meniscus was on the engraved mark.
4. The benzoic acid solution in the pipette was transferred to the conical flask.
5. Two drops of bromophenol blue indicator was added to the conical flask. Bromophenol
blue is yellow below a pH of 3.0 and blue above a pH of 4.6.
6. A burette was rinsed with distilled water and then with the sodium hydroxide solution.
7. The burette was filled with sodium hydroxide and the student carried out the remainder
of the titration appropriately.

The student did not follow acceptable procedures for this titration.

(a) Explain how the mistakes made by the student would affect their calculated concentration 3
of the sodium hydroxide solution.

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(b) Outline why a solution of sodium hydroxide needs to be standardised after it has been 2
prepared from solid sodium hydroxide.

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(c) Show that the Kb of the benzoate (C6H5COO–) ion is 1.6 × 10 10
and hence calculate the 3
pH of a 0.20 mol L–1 sodium benzoate (NaC6H5COO) solution.

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Question 13 (4 marks)
An aqueous solution is known to contain a red molecule (HInd) and a green anion (Ind–).

(a) Explain, in terms of Le Chatelier’s principle, why this solution can be used as an acid-base 3
indicator. Include a relevant chemical equation in your answer.

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(b) Propose a reason for why it is necessary to use a minimum volume of an indicator solution 1
for acid-base titrations.

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Question 14 (5 marks)
Antacid tablets help to relieve the symptoms of reflux by neutralising excess acid secretions in
the stomach. A chemist performed an investigation on a common brand of antacid tablets to
determine the proportion of aluminium hydroxide in the tablets.

The chemist crushed up a 0.515 g antacid tablet and dissolved it in 100.0 mL of 0.320 mol L–1
hydrochloric acid solution. Four 20.0 mL aliquots of the resulting solution were transferred
to separate conical flasks and, in each case, the excess hydrochloric acid was titrated with a
0.150 mol L–1 sodium carbonate primary standard solution. The results are given in the table
below.

Titration Titre volume (mL)

1 13.80
2 13.10
3 13.00
4 13.20

(a) Calculate the moles of leftover hydrochloric acid after the reaction with the tablet. 2

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(b) Calculate the percentage by mass of aluminium hydroxide in the tablet. 3

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Question 15 (7 marks)
Evaluate the usefulness of the Arrhenius theory and the Brönsted-Lowry theory for classifying 7
acids and bases. Include relevant chemical equations in your answer.

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Question 16 (6 marks)
To investigate the effect of concentration on the pH of hydrochloric acid and acetic acid, a series
of acid solutions was prepared in separate test tubes by carrying out 10-fold serial dilutions and
the pH of each solution was measured. The results are shown in the table and graph below.

Concentration of acid
pH of hydrochloric acid pH of acetic acid
(mol L−1 )
1
1.0 × 10 1.00 2.88
2
1.0 × 10 2.00 3.38
3
1.0 × 10 3.00 3.90
4
1.0 × 10 4.00 4.47
5
1.0 × 10 5.00 5.15
6
1.0 × 10 6.00 6.02

4
Hydrochloric acid
pH

Acetic acid
3

0
0.1 0.01 0.001 0.0001 0.00001 0.000001
Concentration of acid (mol L–1)

(a) Draw TWO diagrams in the space below to roughly model the differences between a dilute 2
hydrochloric acid solution and a concentrated acetic acid solution.

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(b) Explain the trends shown in the graph. Include relevant chemical equations in your answer. 4

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Question 17 (6 marks)
A student transferred 20.00 mL of 0.1200 mol L–1 nitric acid solution into a beaker and titrated
it against a potassium hydroxide solution of unknown concentration. As the titrant was being
delivered, changes in pH were monitored using a pH meter immersed in the beaker solution
and attached to a data logger. In total, 30.00 mL of potassium hydroxide was added before the
recording was stopped (This does NOT represent the equivalence point). The potassium
hydroxide solution was later found to have a concentration of 0.1920 mol L–1.

(a) Based on the information given, draw a titration curve for this titration on the axes below. 4
In particular, you should determine and clearly mark:
The initial pH
The equivalence point
The final pH when 30.00 mL of potassium hydroxide has been added

14.00

12.00

10.00

8.00
pH

6.00

4.00

2.00

0.00
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Volume of Titrant Added (mL)

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(b) On the same set of axes, use dashed lines to roughly draw a second titration curve to 1
indicate the pH changes that would occur if 20.00 mL of 0.1200 mol L–1 acetic acid solution
was used instead of 20.00 mL of 0.1200 mol L–1 nitric acid solution in an otherwise identical
titration.

Note that NO specific calculations are necessary for this part.

(c) The conductivity curve for the titration in part (a) is shown below. 1
Conductivity

Volume of Titrant Added (mL)

Outline why the conductivity initially decreases when potassium hydroxide is added.

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End of paper

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