QUESTION 27 (5 marks)
Five colourless 0.1 M solutions of NH3, HCl, KOH, H2SO4 and CH3CH2COOH have lost their labels. The substances are randomly relabelled A, B, C, D and E. The conductivity of each solution and the colour of the solution when phenol red was added are shown.
Solution | Conductivity (S/m) | Colour with phenol red |
A | 4.1 | yellow |
B | 0.14 | red |
C | 0.08 | yellow |
D | 6.7 | yellow |
E | 4.9 | red |
Identify the five solutions. Explain your reasoning.
QCAA guide · typeset solution
QCAA sample response and mark allocation
27 | Solutions A, C and D are acids and solutions B and E are bases, because phenol red is yellow when pH < 6.8 and red when pH > 8.4. Solution C is a weak electrolyte (from low conductivity), therefore C is propanoic acid. Solution D has higher conductivity than solution A, therefore D is sulfuric acid and solution A is HCl, because H2SO4 is diprotic acid and will give a higher concentration of ions in solution than monoprotic HCl. Solution E is KOH as it has a higher conductivity and therefore is a strong base. Solution B has a lower conductivity and therefore is ammonia, a weak base. | • identifies all five solutions [1 mark] • uses indicator data to identify acids and bases [1 mark] • uses conductivity data to identify relative strength of bases [1 mark] • uses conductivity data to identify relative strength of acids [1 mark] • identifies the diprotic acid is more conductive than monoprotic acid [1 mark] |
QCAA sample response and marking criteria reproduced from the official guide.
Compare your working with the guide above.