Titration

Derived from?
The word "titration" descends from the Latin word titulus, which means inscription or
title.

Titration is simply defined as the procedure wherein an acid reacts with a base,
whose volumes are known and concentrations are unknown. Using the known values,
the concentration of the compound (analyte or titer) can be calculated by reacting or
neutralizing it with another chemical compound called titrant. An indicator solution is
used to determine the endpoint of the reaction between both these solutions. In this
experiment involving a reaction between sodium hydroxide (titrant) and sulfuric acid
(titer), an indicator called phenolphthalein is used. It is colorless in acids, and its
endpoint is marked by a color change to pink, when the entire volume of the analyte
has reacted with a small amount of the titrant.
The molecular formula of sulfuric acid is H2SO4. It is a highly corrosive acid made from
sulfur dioxide, and is known to be among the most extensively used products in the
chemical industry. Sodium hydroxide (NaOH) is also an important base that is used in
factories, which is involved in the manufacture of cleaning products, water
purification techniques, and paper products. This compound is a strong alkali, and is
also known as lye and/or caustic soda. The following paragraphs will explain the
entire titration procedure in a classic chemistry experiment format.

Aim

  To calculate the concentration or molarity of sulfuric acid solution by reaction

with a basic solution of sodium hydroxide.

Apparatus/Equipment Needed
 Materials:

 Chromebook with Vernier Graphical Analysis software

 Vernier Go Link
 Vernier pH probe
 Burette (a measuring instrument consisting of a graduated glass tube with a tap
at the bottom) with a stopcock at the bottom. (Pre-loaded by the instructor with
50mL of 5.0M NaOH.
 100 ml graduated cylinder
 H2SO4 of unknown concentration
 Magnetic stir bar
 Titration stand to fix the burette
 Stand and clamp to hold the pH probe
 100 ml glass beaker
 Phenolphthalein solution

Procedure

1. Open Vernier Graphical Analysis on the Chromebook.

 Attach Go Link adaptor and Vernier pH probe.
 Select “Sensor Data Collection.”
 Click “Mode” on bottom left
 “End collection manually.” “Done.”
 2. CAREFULLY pour 20mL of H2SO4 into a 100mL graduated cylinder.
3. CAREFULLY pour the measured H2SO4 from the 100mL graduated cylinder
into a 100 mL beaker. Rinse the graduated cylinder in the sink.
4. Add 2-3 drops of Phenolphthalein and a stir bar to the H2SO4.
5. Set up the beaker of H2SO4 in the center of a hot plate / stirrer and align
the stand for the pH probe and the stand for the burette so both are in
position with the beaker.
6. Turn on the stirrer so the stir bar is agitating the H2SO4.
7. Have the burette loaded by the instructor and replace it in the burette
stand.
8. When you are ready to begin titrating click “collect” on the Chromebook.
9. Now, hold the flask just below the burette tip, and slowly turn the
stopcock so as to release the NaOH solution in a drop-by-drop manner
into the beaker.
10. When a slight pink color can be seen in the mixture, stop adding the
base by turning off the stopcock.
11. See if the pink color disappears. If it remains, then the reaction is
complete, and if the mixture again turns colorless, then start adding the
base slowly till a color change is noticed.
12. Record the reading of the volume of NaOH used to react with the
acidic solution. This is done by observing the position of the lower
meniscus in the burette.

Process, Observations, and Reactions

1. The indicator used, i.e., phenolphthalein has an endpoint from colorless to pink.
This means that it is colorless in acids and turns pink in bases. Thus, as it is added in
the flask at the start of the procedure, the acidic solution remains colorless. When a
specific volume of NaOH has reacted with the acid, the color change is observed; it is
very crucial to stop the addition of the titrant at this point, as any extra amount of the
base can give a wrong reading, thus, leading to entirely wrong calculations. At this
point, the reaction being complete, the indicator detects the presence of adequate
amount of a base solution in the mixture and hence, turns pink.

2. A reaction between sulfuric acid and sodium hydroxide is of an acid-base type, or is

also known as a neutralization reaction. In this process, both compounds undergo a
reaction to neutralize the acid and base properties. The products of this process are
salt and water. The former is produced when the cation (a positively charged ion) of
the base combines with the anion (a negatively charged ion) of the acid. In the
language of chemistry, the cation of the base NaOH, i.e., Na , combines with the anion
+

of the acid H2SO4, i.e., SO42 . This gives out H2SO4. Water is formed as a result of the
-

reaction between the cation of the acid (H ) that combines with an anion of the base
+

(OH ).
-

The balanced equation of this reaction is:

H2SO4 + 2NaOH → Na2SO4 + 2H2O ---- (equation 1)

3. In this process, 2 moles (the molecular weight of a substance expressed in grams)

of sodium hydroxide (NaOH) combine with one mole of sulfuric acid (H 2SO4). This
results in the formation of two moles of water (H 2O) and one mole of sodium sulfate
(Na2SO4). The net ionic equation (a chemical equation in which electrolytes are written
as dissociated ions) can be explained as follows:

The complete balanced equation for the reaction between sulfuric acid and sodium
hydroxide is:
H2SO4 + 2NaOH → Na2SO4 + 2H2O

Thus, writing this in a full ionic reaction form , we get:

2H+ + SO42- + 2 Na+ + 2OH- → 2Na+ + SO42- + 2H2O

So, the net ionic equation of sulfuric acid and sodium hydroxide, after crossing out
the spectator ions, is:
2H+ + 2OH- → 2H2O

Calculations and Inferences

Let's find out the molarity or concentration of sulfuric acid solution from the given
and observed data (molarity and observed volume of sodium hydroxide).

For example, during three rounds of the experiment, the amount of NaOH needed to
react with sulfuric acid is 12 ml, 13 ml, and 12.5 ml, respectively. Thus, by taking their
average, 12.5 ml of NaOH neutralized the acid with the unknown concentration.
Suppose the molarity of sodium hydroxide is 0.1 mol/L. The formula for calculating
the number of moles of a solution is:
Number of Moles (N) = Volume (V) x Molarity (M)
Thus, the formula becomes,

N = 0.0125 x 0.1 = 0.00125 moles

Now, according to the equation 1 mentioned above, exactly half the number of moles
of sulfuric acid take part in the reaction; i.e., the number of moles required for the
neutralization process are:

N (for sulfuric acid) = 0.00125/2 = 0.000625 moles

The volume of sulfuric acid used in this experiment is 10 ml. By rearranging the above
formula, the molarity or concentration of H2SO4 is calculated:

Molarity (M) = Number of Moles (N)/Volume (V) M = 0.000625/0.01 = 0.0625mol/L

Thus, the molarity or concentration of sulfuric acid in the above-described

experiment is 0.0625 mol/L.
Titration experiments are not only useful for understanding neutralization reactions
between acids and basis, but also help us understand reactions related to
stoichiometry, industrial applications, groundwater analysis, studies related to hard
water and detergents, etc. The endpoint is not always characterized by a color
change; in some experiments, it can also be indicated by ways like precipitation and
variation in the electrical conductivity of the reactants.

Credit: ScienceStruck, Rajib Singha 

 Jan 29, 2018