How do we dilute concentrated hydrochloric acid to give 10% #HCl#?

Question

Peyton Adams · Accepted Answer

Carefully, and YOU ALWAYS ADD ACID TO WATER..........You also wear a lab coat and a pair of safety spex..................

#38%# #HCl# is as far as I know the most concentrated hydrochloric acid solution you can get. The reported concentrations must be: #"mass of HCl"/"mass of solution"xx100%.# And thus you add #"1 part acid"# to #"3 parts"# water by volume. The order of addition is IMPORTANT.

Naomi Aronson · Answer

You add 260 mL of the 38 % acid to enough water to make 1 L.

Let's say you wanted to prepare 1 L of 10 % #"HCl"#. Since you are using solutions with the same concentration units, you don’t need the density information. You can simply use the dilution formula #color(blue)(bar(ul(|color(white)(a/a) c_1V_1 = c_2V_2color(white)(a/a)|)))" "# We can rearrange this formula to get #V_1 = V_2 × c_2/c_1# In your problem, #c_1 = 38 %; V_1 = ?# #c_2 = 10 %; V_2 = "1 L"# ∴ #V_1 = "1 L" × (10 color(red)(cancel(color(black)(%))))/(38 color(red)(cancel(color(black)(%)))) = "0.26 L" = "260 mL"# Thus, you would slowly and carefully add 260 mL of the 38 % acid to about 500 mL of distilled water in a volumetric flask, always swirling gently to make sure that the acid is evenly mixed. Then you would add more distilled water until the level just reaches the 1 L mark on the flask.

Natalie Anton · Answer

undefined To dilute concentrated hydrochloric acid to give a 10% HCl solution, you would mix the concentrated acid with water in the appropriate proportions. Measure out a volume of concentrated hydrochloric acid and then add water to it until the total volume of the solution is increased to the desired amount. The exact proportions depend on the concentration of the original acid and the volume of the final solution you want to make. It's important to add the acid to water slowly and with stirring to prevent splashing and ensure thorough mixing.