Tick, tick, tick ... The clock rolls on. My eyes float between the paper that lies before me and the clock on the wall.

Solid potassium hydroxide would not be a suitable primary standard for the standardization of an acid because?

Breeze whistles through my hair as I lie on the sand which is as white as snow.

Yes! Not suitable because potassium hydroxide absorbs CO2 readily from the air. I'm coming down the home stretch now with five minutes remaining. A whole hour and 25 minutes gone, my brain is ready to explode. This chem. stuff is definitely not for me. I cannot take another year of this technical left-side-of-the-brain strain.

Sounds of water and sand movements are present voices that drift into my ears.

The rustle of pages is becoming louder as the test time draws to a close. Calculate the volume of 0.50m sodium hydroxide solution required to neutralize 150.0 mL of 1.5 M ethanolic (acetic) acid, CH3 COOH.

Sun pours onto my half-naked body as I head for the crystal clear aquamarine water.

NaOh + CH3COOH CH3COONa + H2O. Equations down, now for the setting out of the problem.

Tick, tick, tick ...

A large wave crashes and slurps up and surrounds my ankles then withdraws and I am left with the refreshing salty tingle.

n(CH3COOH) = 0.15 L x 1.5 mol./L

= 0.225 mol.

Now I have moles of ethanolic acid. The ratio of ethanol acid to sodium hydroxide is 1: 1. Therefore n(NaOH)=0.225 mol.

The lapping of water increases as I submerge my feet, ankles and knees into the transparent water.

Volume ... Moles over concentration. v(NaOH) = 0.225 mol./0.50 mol./L Yes! equals 0.45 L. Okay last one to go. With ...

Tick, tick, tick ...

The deep hollow footsteps crash heavily as they approach the microphone.

Gas, formula, solution, standardized, find, calculate, density ... What? What?

The wave thunders and rolls in engulfing me in a sea of white foam. I emerge to the glare of the sun and the breeze that lifts the moisture from my skin. 1