Final answer:
The molarity of phosphoric acid is 0.053 M.
Step-by-step explanation:
To determine the molarity of phosphoric acid, we need to use the equation of the balanced chemical reaction. Phosphoric acid (H3PO4) reacts with sodium hydroxide (NaOH) to form water (H2O) and sodium phosphate (Na3PO4).
The balanced equation is: H3PO4(aq) + 3NaOH(aq) → 3H2O(l) + Na3PO4(aq)
From the equation, we can see that the ratio of phosphoric acid to sodium hydroxide is 1:3. Since 15.9 mL of 0.200 M sodium hydroxide was used, the moles of sodium hydroxide can be calculated as follows: (15.9 mL)(0.200 mol/L) = 3.18 mmol NaOH.
Since the ratio of NaOH to H3PO4 is 3:1, the moles of phosphoric acid will be 1/3 of the moles of NaOH: (3.18 mmol NaOH)(1/3) = 1.06 mmol H3PO4.
Finally, to determine the molarity of phosphoric acid, divide the moles of H3PO4 by the volume of acid used in liters: (1.06 mmol H3PO4) / (20 mL) = 0.053 M H3PO4.