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ACID- BASE TITRATION

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WHAT IS ACID- BASE TITRATION?

An acid-base titration is a method of obtaining details about a solution that contains an acid or a
base.

Titration may be used to evaluate the acidic or basic properties of hundreds of organic and
inorganic compounds. A base is titrated with an acid, and an acid is titrated with a base. Adding an
indicator to the endpoint is commonly used to detect it.

PURPOSE OF STUDY
A stoichiometric proton-transfer reaction is used to determine the concentration of an acid or base
by calculating the amount of titrant (of known concentration) that interacts with it.\

THEORY

Solid or weak acids or bases are used in an acid-base titration. An acid-base titration, in particular,
can be used to determine the following.
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12/7/21, 11:25 PM ACID- BASE TITRATION - Swiflearn

An acid’s or a base’s concentration

The strength or weakness of an unknown acid or base.
An unknown acid’s pKa or an unknown base’s pKb.

Consider an acid-base reaction that is taking place with a proton acceptor. The proton is normally
solvated as H3O+ in water. To lose (OH–) or gain (H3O+), H2O is added to the foundation.
Reversible acid-base reactions exist.

The reactions are shown in the table below.

HA + H2O → H3O+ + A– (base)

HA + H2O → BH+ + OH– (acid)

The conjugate base is [A–], and the conjugate acid is H+B. As a result, we tell

Acid + Base ⇋ Conjugate base + Conjugate acid

Therefore,

For a combination of different forms of strong and weak acids or bases, it is possible to express
[H+] in terms of KA, KB, and Kw.

TERM DEFINITIONS
Titration – When a solution of known intensity is applied to a specific volume of a treated
sample containing an indicator, it is referred to as titration.
Titrant – A solution with a known concentration intensity that is used in the titration.
Titrand – A titrand is any solution that contains the ion or species being decided and to which
the titrant has been applied.
Titration curve – A graph of pH vs. titrant millilitres that shows how pH changes vs. titrant
millilitres during an acid-base titration.
Equivalence point-The point at which just enough reagent is applied to fully react with a
substance is known as the equivalence point.
Buffer solution- A buffer solution avoids pH changes even when a strong acid or base is
applied or when it is mixed with water. 

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ACID-BASE TITRATION TYPES

The following table lists the different forms and examples of strong and weak acids and bases.

TYPES EXAMPLES

Strong acid-strong base Hydrochloric acid and sodium hydroxide

Weak acid-strong base Ethanoic acid and sodium hydroxide

Strong acid-weak base Hydrochloric acid and ammonia

Weak acid-weak base Ethanoic and ammonia

EQUIVALENCE POINT & TITRATION CURVE

The equivalence point in a titration is the point at which exactly the same number of moles of
hydroxide ions as there are moles of hydrogen ions have been added. If the base is applied from
the burette and the acid is properly measured into a flask, a titration is performed. Each titration
curve has a shape that is typical of the acid-base titration method.

As the acid is applied, the pH does not change in a predictable manner. Each curve has horizontal
parts where a large number of bases can be inserted without significantly altering the pH. Except
for weak acid and weak base, where a single drop of base shifts the pH by many unmeasurable
units, each curve has a steep section.           

Even though the equivalence point is not at pH 7, there is a significant shift in pH. This is important
when selecting indicators for different types of titrations.

INDICATOR SELECTION
Acid-base markers are substances that change colour or turbidity when exposed to a specific pH.
They evaluate pH as well as finding the equivalence point. They are soluble, sticky, and display
clear colour changes when they are acids or bases. They are natural and organic.

The colour shift is caused by an electron isomerism resonance. Since different indicators have
different ionisation constants, they change colour at different pH intervals.   

Acid-base metrics can be divided into three categories.

The phthaleins and sulphophthaleins are two types of phthaleins (eg; Phenolphthalein)
Indicators of azo (eg; Methyl orange)
Indicators of triphenylmethane (eg; Malachite green)

Phenolphthalein and methyl orange are two popular indicators used in acid-base titration. The

base is added to the acid in each of the four forms of acid-base titrations. The pH is plotted against
the volume of base added in the graph below. Through what pH spectrum do the two indicators

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