Purpose
The purpose of this experiment is to prepare soap through the saponification process and use it to test water hardness. Procedure The saponification process began by placing approximately 5 grams of lard in a beaker. 15 mL of sodium Hydroxide (6 M) was slowly and carefully added followed by an addition of 25 mL of ethanol. After adding ethanol, the beaker was heated while stirring until the base fully reacted with the lard. The result was a clear and homogenous solution. After cooling the solution, 20 mL of water was added. The next step involved the preparation of saturated ...