1) Balance the chemical equation.
[tex]H_3C_6H_5O_{7(aq)}+3NaOH_{(aq)}\rightarrow Na_3C_6H_5O_{7(aq)}+3H_2O_{(l)}[/tex]2) List the known and unknown quantities.
Sample: citric acid.
Volume: 20.0 mL = 0.0200 L
Molarity: unknown.
Base: NaOH.
Volume: 18.4 mL = 0.0184 L
Molarity: 0.100 M
3) Moles of NaOH that reacted.
[tex]M=\frac{mol\text{ }NaOH}{Volume\text{ }(L)}[/tex][tex]mol\text{ }NaOH=(0.100\text{ }M)*(0.0184\text{ }L)=0.00184\text{ }mol\text{ }NaOH[/tex]4) Convert moles of NaOH to moles of H3C6H5O7.
The molar ratio between NaOH and H3C6H5O7 is 3 mol NaOH: 1 mol H3C6H5O7.
[tex]mol\text{ }H_3C_6H_5O_7=0.00184\text{ }mol\text{ }NaOH*\frac{1\text{ }mol\text{ }H_3C_6H_5O_7}{3\text{ }mol\text{ }NaOH}=0.0006133\text{ }mol\text{ }H_3C_6H_5O_7[/tex]0.0006133 mol H3C6H5O7 reacted.
5) Find the molarity.
Sample: citric acid.
Volume: 0.0200 L
Molarity: 0.0006133 mol.
[tex]M=\frac{mol\text{ }H_3C_6H_5O_7}{L\text{ }of\text{ }solution}[/tex][tex]M=\frac{0.0006133\text{ }mol}{0.0200\text{ }L}=0.030667\text{ }M[/tex]The concentration of citric acid (H3C6H5O7) is 0.0307 M.
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