Determining the Most
Effective Antacid
Culminating Lab
Saigopal Gujjula
Ms. Tran
Science
October 21, 2011
Background
The stomach acid is a very intriguing type of substance which has a very important job for the
human body. The stomach is made up of hydrochloric acid, which it uses to break down food so
that it may pass through our intestines to get the nutrients needed to survive. Sometimes, due
to the fact that some people have acid reflexes by eating too much acidic foods, causes a
burning affect which is known as heart burn. This effect happens when the gastric juices splash
up and touch our sensitive esophagus giving us the burning sensation. Heart burn is a very
irritating issue to have because due to this, your esophagus can be distorted as well as, gives
you a sensation that will irritate you throughout your day and even at night. This irritating and
sometimes dangerous issue is solved by the use of antacids which help the acidic juices in the
stomach to calm down and be less acidic helping the stomach acids to not bubble up and
destroy our esophagus helping us to feel good.
Usually antacids are bases which neutralize with the acids of our stomach. These antacids are
very common in many people’s drug cabinet. Some examples of antacids are TUMS or anything
that contains magnesium hydroxide, aluminum hydroxide, calcium carbonate or any salt. In
most antacids there is both magnesium hydroxide and aluminum hydroxide because aluminum
hydroxide has an effect of giving people constipation and magnesium hydroxide has the habit
of giving people diarrhea. So with the two combined, they neutralize the effects and give the
perfect antacid.
Philips Milk of Magnesia
8.99
Life Brand Milk of Magnesia
7.99
Diovol Plus AF
9.99
Purpose:
The purpose for this experiment is to find out which of the following; Philips milk of magnesia,
Life Brand milk of magnesia or Diovol plus is the best and most powerful antacid.
Hypothesis:
The most effective brand in this lab will be Diovol Plus AF because in this product there is both
magnesium hydroxide and aluminum hydroxide which will cancel out each other’s weak spots
and make this the best product to neutralize the stomach without any side effects. Even if the
price for this product is more, it is worth buying it because if you get diarrhea or constipation
from using the other products, you are going to have to buy medicine for that, which will cost
you another 7 to 10 dollars.
Materials:
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Safety Goggles
2/ 100 mL Beakers
Siring rod
Pipettes
Antacids
0.2 M Hydrochloric Acid (HCl)
Phenolphthalein
Universal pH paper
Philips milk of magnesia
Life Brand milk of magnesia
Diovol Plus AF
PART 1
Hypothesis:
There will be 15 drops needed to neutralize the 10 drops of Sodium Hydroxide and the final ph
level will be 7.
Number of drops of
NaOH Base
Initial pH Paper
Colour and pH
Reading
10
pH 12
Number of drops of
HCl Acid added to
change indicator
colour to clear
22
Final pH Paper Colour
and pH Reading
6-7 (6.5)
Therefore, my prediction was not right but was close, just off by 7 drops and my prediction for
the final pH level was right.
PART 2
1. From the front desk, get a beaker of antacid and write down which brand you’re using
into the observation chart given.
2. Using the pipette, get 5 drops into your 100 mL beaker.
3. Go back to your desk and use the pH paper given to find the initial pH level and record it
onto your chart.
4. Add one drop of phenolphthalein using the bottle and record down what colour it make
the substance turns into.
5. Using a pipette drop small drops of hydrochloric acid into the substance until it becomes
a plain see through colour. Stir the mixture every 10 drops and make sure to record all
to the observations.
6. Do all these steps again for the next 2 antacids.
OBSERVATIONS:
Antacid
Brand
Number of
drops of
Antacid
Initial pH
paper Colour
and pH
reading
Colour of
substance after
phenolphthalein
is added
Philips
5
Purple
Life Brand
5
Brownish,
green- 12pH
Brownish,
green- 12pH
Number of
drops of HCl
Acid added
to change
indicator
colour to
clear
90
Purple
120
Diovol Plus
AF
5
Light green8/9pH
Light Pink
45
Final pH
paper colour
and ph
reading
Light orange6ph
Orange,
Green - 7/6
pH (6.5)
Greenish,
orange - 6/7
pH (6.5)
Results:
In this experiment we had to see which one of the antacids was most effective at neutralizing
our stomach acids. As we first started by placing five drops of the antacid in a beaker and then
finding out the original pH level of the Philips Milk of Magnesia which was 12, we then dropped
5 drops of phenolphthalein. After, we started to add drops of Hydrochloric acid. We were close
to having the Philips Milk of Magnesia neutralized at 120 drops of the hydrochloric acid, we
measured the pH level again and figured out it was at 6pH, meaning it is about neutral and
maybe a bit more acidic due to the fact that we accidentally added more drops. The pH paper
colour was first a brownish green and then turned into a light orange colour meaning through
this process, the pH level did change. When we started with the five drops of the Life Brand
Milk of Magnesia which also had a 12pH level at the starting and had a brownish, green colour,
turned purple when the phenolphthalein was added. When the 90 drops of hydrochloric acid
was added the ph level changed from a 12pH to a 6/7pH, meaning that the neutralizing process
was successful. When the last antacid was tested, the initial pH level of this substance was an
8/9pH and had a light green colour. When the phenolphthalein was added the substance
became a light pink colour and when the hydrochloric acid was introduced, it took 45 drops to
neutralize it to a 6/7 pH level substance which had a greenish orange colour when the pH paper
was used. These were the results for this experiment.
Error analysis:
In this experiment there were spots where errors were established in which some were human
and some were equipment errors. Sole of the human errors in this experiment are when the
use of a pipette is used to drop droplets of hydrochloric acid. The fact of dropping 100 drops
into the beaker in the time limit we had was not enough to get an accurate result. Therefore,
the act of dropping droplets was done very fast to get all of the experiments done in the time
limit. Also, there is an equipment error in this experiment. This error also results from the
pipettes because the pipette does not always give an accurate drop each time, giving many
different types of results. The alternative piece of equipment in which this experiment would
be more accurate would be by using a burette which gives an accurate amount of a substance
leaving the funnel.
Also, another error in this experiment is that when the antacid was placed into a beaker to
start the experiment, the beaker could have not been cleaned properly so the experiment
substance could have been contaminated. There could also be water at the bottom of the
beaker which has many other materials and substances due to the fact it is tap water deferring
our results. This could be solved by thoroughly cleaning our beakers. Another human error in
this experiment is that when the pH paper is dipped into the solution and is investigated to find
the colour and pH level, there could be some errors in picking the correct colour for the pH
level. This can be solved by having very exact and detailed chart which will then be used to find
the exact pH level, giving exact observations. One thing which could have been used to make
this more effective would be to put a white price of paper underneath of the beaker so when
the hydrochloric acid is added to the substance to find the clearness, it would be more
effective. These are the human errors and some things in which we can make this experiment
even more precise.
Discussion:
The way to determine which one of the following antacid is most effective and the best is to see
which one takes the most drops of hydrochloric acid to neutralize the mixture. The reason why
this is it is because this means that the substance has a high base pH level or is very
concentrated which neutralizes more acid in a particular number of drops. In this experiment
the Life Brand Milk of Magnesia had the most amounts of drops of hydrochloric acid to make it
neutralized making it the best base and antacid out of the three tested. Second place for this
experiment went to the Philips brand which I thought was going to be good due to the fact that
it is a brand name product. However, it was Life Brand which was the best. This could have
been due to the fact it was more concentrated then the Philips brand making it more effective.
My expectations for the Diovol Plus was high because it had both magnesium hydroxide and
aluminum hydroxide, but failed, making it the worst antacid out of the three. The active
ingredient of the Life Brand Milk of Magnesia is magnesium hydroxide which is a salt and is also
used in both the other antacids. The chemical equation for this reaction when it reacts with our
stomach acid is: Magnesium hydroxide + Hydrochloric Acid  Magnesium Chloride + water.
This in equation terms is: Mg (OH)2 + 2HCl  MgCl2 + 2H20.
In a normal human body we do add an antacid, which is a base, to the stomach acid, which is an
acid, to help cure the heartburn. However, this will not matter in the process because even if
the acid is added to the base the results will still be the same but only backwards. This can be
referred to a bowl of cereal; it does not matter if you put the cereal in first or the milk. The only
difference in this experiment would be that you would add the phenolphthalein to the acid and
not the base and when you add the phenolphthalein to the acid the colour would be clear and
you would have to add the base until the substance turned into a purple, pink colour. However,
this is not a realistic way to show the experiment because in our stomach we add the antacid to
the stomach acid to help with our heartburn but if you think about it, it seems that it would
work both ways but just the information would be switched. For example, instead of finding out
how many drops it takes to neutralize the base, it would be how many drops it would take to
neutralize the acid. To end, it would not matter if you were to put the acid into the base or if
you were to put the base into the acid to see how many drops are needed to neutralize a
substance.
When the topic to see which is more beneficial; taking an antacid before or after heartburn,
there is an obvious answer which is not always taken to fact. This obvious fact is to take an
antacid before you feel heartburn especially if you had an acidic meat such as spicy curry,
pickles or anything acidic. Pharmacists and doctors recommend that you take an antacid after
30 minutes of a meal so you get a neutralized stomach. One of the reasons why I say this is the
most beneficial way of taking an antacid is because the stomach starts producing more stomach
acid as it detects that you are eating acidic foods so it can digest the food properly. This means,
that after 30 minutes of your meal, it would be the perfect time because the stomach would
have broken down the food and is about to start the heartburn effect. By taking it after 30
minutes you are being proactive and will not have to suffer the heartburn, even if it is about to
happen.
In this lab, we have investigated only the liquid form of an antacid to neutralize the stomach
acid but there are many other forms of antacids which also neutralize the stomach acids. If I
had the chance to investigate the most effective way of neutralizing the stomach acids I would
research other ways which are more effective. Through research, I have found out the liquid
form is the best way to neutralize the stomach acids because it is able to spread all around and
give a better effect in a shorter time. A tablet would only go into the stomach and make the
stomach acids dissolve the substance and then make it effective. Also there are products in the
market such as TUMS which are in a solid form but are needed to savor to dissolve in our
mouth using our saliva making this have a combination of both the liquid and solid
characteristics. Even though research is a good start, it is not the best way of finding out the
answer for the question; an experiment would be most effective. An experimental procedure
for this question would be to have the best liquid antacid such as the Life Brand Milk of
Magnesia and an antacid tablet such as Gaviscon and an antacid which has both characteristic
such as TUMS dissolved in a saliva solution. Through this, we will have hydrochloric acid which
is what our stomach acids are made of and put a couple drops of phenolphthalein in which we
will then be able to see how many drops or mass of a solution is needed to neutralize a
substance. However, this time we will do the exact opposite of the experiment we just did by
using a burette instead of a pipette to see which one is the best.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, in this experiment we have found out the Life Brand Milk of Magnesia is the best
antacid when compared to the Philips Milk of Magnesia and the Diovol Plus AF. Also, in this
experiment the Philips Milk of Magnesia should have been a good and effective product
because it is a brand name product however, the Life Brand Milk of Magnesia was the most
effective by having 120 drops of hydrochloric acid to neutralize the mixture. On the other hand,
the Philips milk of magnesia took 90 drops of hydrochloric acid to neutralize the substance
which is a 30 drops difference. In addition, Diovol Plus AF needed only 50 drops of hydrochloric
acid to neutralize the substance even though this substance consists of both magnesium
hydroxide and aluminum hydroxide which makes this a substance that does not have side
effects of constipation or diarrhea. When compared to my hypothesis, the results do not match
because I chose that Diovol Plus AF would be the most effective due to the fact that it has both
magnesium hydroxide and aluminum hydroxide, however, this was not the case making this the
weakest antacid in this experiment. To end, through this experiment we have found out that
the best antacid is the Life Brand Milk of Magnesia which will help relieve heart burn and
neutralize your stomach acids for people’s benefit.
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