Chemistry 163 Lab

TITRATION CURVES

Acid-base titration is a useful technique for determining the concentration of an acidic or

basic solution. As you will see today, titration of a weak acid or base can also be used to
determine the pKa or pKb for the acid/base. You have already been introduced to titration
technique in previous labs. Today you will use a pH meter connected to a computer to
generate a titration curve. A titration curve shows how the pH of a solution changes as
acid or base is added. The shape of a titration curve is influenced by both the
concentration and structure of the acid. You will see two different titration curves in
today's lab.

A typical strong acid-strong base titration curve is shown in Figure 1 below. In this lab
you will be titrating weak acids which look a bit different, but still have the steep section
in the middle. In previous titration experiments you have determined the equivalence
point of the titration by observing the color change of an indicator. When using a pH
meter to monitor the titration, the endpoint is determined by the inflection point of the
curve. This provides a more accurate determination of the equivalence point. The
inflection point is the steepest part of the curve, and is also the point on the curve where
the curvature changes. In calculus terms, this is the point where the second derivative
equals zero.

Figure 1: Strong acid-strong base titration curve

The LoggerPro program that you will be using to collect the data has a feature which will
allow you to calculate and plot the second derivative of pH as a function of volume of
base added. There is a video you can watch which goes over how to make this plot and
find the endpoint.

In this lab you will work with a partner to complete two titrations. First you will titrate a
weak acid (KHP) with a ~0.1 M sodium hydroxide solution. From the results of this

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 Chemistry 163 Lab

titration you will be able to calculate the exact concentration of the NaOH. (In other
words, you will standardize the NaOH. Do you remember why this is necessary?) Next
you will titrate an unknown polyprotic acid. From your titration data, you will be able to
calculate the acid ionization constants and the molecular weight of the unknown acid.

A pH meter will be used to measure the pH. So that you can monitor each titration in real
time, you will enter and plot the data on a computer as the titration proceeds.

Part I. Titration of a known monoprotic weak acid (KHP)

The objectives of this titration are to:
(1) observe the titration curve for a weak acid with a strong base
(2) use the data collected to determine the exact molarity of the NaOH
(3) find the pKa for KHP

Part II. Titration of an unknown polyprotic acid

The objectives of this titration are to:
(1) observe the titration curve for a weak polyprotic acid with a strong base
(2) to use the data collected to determine the molar mass of the acid
(3) to find the pKa values for the polyprotic acid.

Before coming to lab…..

● Read the lab thoroughly and prepare your notebook.

● Review your text for a further discussion of titration curves, particularly the
discussion of titrations involving weak acids and bases.
● Look up and record the molar mass and structure of KHP. Record these in your
notebook.
● Review how to calculate the molarity of an acid or base from the endpoint of a
titration. You may wish to review the Standardization of NaOH lab from
Chemistry 161.
● Preview the posted video which shows how to use the LoggerPro program to
make a second derivative plot.

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Directions
1. Set up a titration apparatus as shown below. Position the pH electrode in the
solution and adjust its position so that it is not struck by the stirring bar.

2. Connect a pH electrode to channel 1 of a LabQuest interface and connect the

interface to a computer. Open the LoggerPro program. Open the folder Chemistry
with Vernier and from there select the Acid-Base Titrations Experiment. The axes
should be properly scaled for your experiment.

3. Use the buffer solutions to calibrate the pH probe.

4. Set up a buret with the NaOH solution provided. Fill to the 0.00 mL line.

5. You will be given a vial containing KHP. Dissolve the entire sample in about 40
mL of water and determine the exact mass by weighing the vial before and after.

6. Add a few drops of phenolphthalein to the acid. This is not necessary because you
will be finding the equivalence point from the graph, but it is useful to observe
how the equivalence point you get from the graph compares to what you would
determine using the indicator.

7. In your notebook, calculate the expected endpoint based on the mass of KHP
used.

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8. Record the initial pH of the acid solution. This is the pH with no NaOH added.
You will be entering data manually as you titrate. Record the initial volume (0.00
mL) of NaOH in the buret. As you continue to enter data, the titration curve will
be displayed on the screen.

9. Begin titrating with NaOH. You should try to produce a pH change of

approximately 0.2 units with each addition of base. If the pH changes too
rapidly, your curves will not be smooth and you will have difficulty determining
the equivalence point. Do not worry if you “overshoot” a change of 0.2 pH units,
but be sure to record the exact volumes and pH values.

10. For each addition of base, record the exact volume of NaOH added and the exact
pH. Remember that burets should be read to the hundredths place. Note: When
the pH begins to change rapidly you will need to add base in much smaller
increments in order to produce a change of only 0.2 units.

11. Record the volume of base and the pH at the point when the solution turns pink.
You do not need this information for your calculations, but it will be interesting to
observe how or if the two methods for determining the equivalence point differ.

12. Continue titrating to beyond the equivalence point, where the curve begins to
flatten out.

13. Add a column to your data table to calculate the second derivative of the data and
plot this data to determine the equivalence point. Review the posted video for how
to do this. Save the file to your ACS account or to a removable drive. Do not save
to the hard drive or your data will be lost.

14. Repeat the steps above with your sample of an unknown polyprotic acid. Record
the unknown number. Remember that you will have two equivalence points. If
you add base too quickly, you may miss the first one.

Calculations and Post Lab

Your post lab template is available on Canvas. For your post lab you will:

1. Calculate the exact molarity of the NaOH

2. Find the pKa for KHP
3. Find the molar mass of your unknown polyprotic acid
4. Find the pKa values for the polyprotic acid

Before completing your post lab you must submit your results to the Google Form for
checking.

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