Question

A water droplet clings to the inner wall of a dirty buret between the initial and final volumes in the tiration of a saturated Ca(OH)₂ solution. Will the molar solubility of the calcium hydroxide be reported too high, too low, or be unaffected by this technique error? Explain.

Answer 1

The clinging water droplet during the titration of Ca(OH)2 would cause the molar solubility to be reported too low because some of the Ca(OH)2 solution is not accounted for, leading to an overestimation of titrant volume required.

Step-by-step explanation:

If a water droplet clings to the inner wall of a dirty buret between the initial and final volumes during the titration of a saturated Ca(OH)2 solution, it means that some of the water (and hence Ca(OH)2 within that droplet) has not been accounted for in the titration.

This technique error will result in reporting the molar solubility of calcium hydroxide to be too low, as the total volume of the titrant (HCl) used would be higher than it should be if the droplet was included. Since the analyte volume would be underestimated, it would appear that less Ca(OH)2 has dissolved than actually has, leading to a lower calculation of molar solubility.