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5 Acid-Base Titrations
What is a Titration?
The equivalence point is the point at which the mols of analyte present are
equal to the mols of titrant that have been dripped. This can be represented
mathematically by saying nMaVa = mMbVb, where n and m are
stoichiometric coefficients and M and V are the molarities and volumes of
the analyte and titrant at the equivalence point.
Titration Curves
As an acid or base is dripped into a base or acid of unknown concentration, we can keep track of the pH as we add
more and more of the titrant.
Pre-Titration
Our first step is to take a pH reading before any titrant has been added. For this
example, we have an HCl concentration of 1M, meaning the pH is -log([1]) = 0.
Pre-Equivalence Point
As we add in NaOH, the following net ionic equation occurs:
If we add OH- up until the equivalence point, we will have an excess of H+.
This means that our solution will still have exclusively H+, but to a lesser
degree, because some of the original H+ will create H2O. Therefore, up until
the equivalence point, our pH will slowly increase.
Equivalence Point
Then, we reach a turning point where the moles of HCl originally in the solution (25mmol) will equal the moles of
NaOH added. This occurs at 25mL (we know this by solving the equation MaVa = MbVb). At 25mL, we have 25mmol
of both HCl and NaOH, meaning we have no excess reactant and are left over with only water at the end.
At the equivalence point, our pH is 7. This is true of any titration between a strong acid and a strong base. (We will get
to weak acids and bases later).
Post-Equivalence Point
Once we reach past the equivalence point, we will have an excess of base,
indicating that our pH slowly increases as we add more base, similarly to before the equivalence point.
Overall, here is what the titration curve for this entire titration looks
like:
The minor problem with our example above is that most acids and bases are not strong! However, the process is almost
exactly the same when we have a strong acid and a weak base
or a strong base and a weak acid (the latter is more common to
see on the AP Exam).
When we have an excess in CH3COOH, we end up with both CH3COOH and CH3COO-. A buffer! The same goes for
the opposite situation (for example, the titration of HCl into NH4NO3). Thus, our solution is less responsive to changes
in pH and will have a half-equivalence point at exactly 1/2 the volume of the equivalence point. At this point, we have
the maximum buffer where pH=pKa or pOH=pKb (If you're titrating a weak acid with a strong base, use the former,
and vice versa).
Furthermore, because there is a product other than H2O, the pH at the equivalence point will not always be 7! In fact, it
will never be 7. When titrating a weak base with a strong acid, your equivalence point will be acidic, and vice versa, a
weak acid with a strong base will yield a basic equivalence point. This is because, at the equivalence point, you will
create some conjugate base/acid.
See an example of two titration curves, one with a strong base and weak acid and the other with a strong acid and weak
base. Test yourself on whether you can find the half-equivalence point and equivalence point and estimate what the pH
at the equivalence point is and the Ka/Kb of the acid/base!
Reading a Burette
Example Problems
Essentially, strength stems from the stability of the conjugate base/acid of the acid/base in question. Remember that when
describing the strength of a conjugate acid/base, it is inversely proportional to the strength of the base/acid itself. That is to say that
the stronger the acid, the weaker the conjugate base. If our conjugate base is a very strong base, our acid is not very strong, and
vice versa. To know if a conjugate base is very strong, we discuss the stability of the compound. The question we want to answer
for conjugate bases is 'will this compound attract an H+ ion?" For conjugate acids, 'will this compound readily donate an H+ ion?'
One of the first ideas is that weaker bonds to an acidic H will lead to a stronger acid because that bond is more easily broken. For
example, in halogenic hydrides (eg. HF, HI, HBr, HCl), the weakest H-X interactions occur with larger halogens. Therefore,
moving down the halogen, the acids become stronger because larger atoms will give weaker interactions.
Similarly, acid strength increases from left to right across a period and increases going down a group. This can actually help us
understand why strong acids have very weak conjugate bases. When a strong acid, like HCl, dissociates, the conjugate base, Cl-, is
incredibly stable. Cl- is a stable ion that will not readily react with much. Ultimately, it is not a reactive base and will create a more
dissociative acid.
When discussing oxyacids, the structure can be described by looking at the polarity of the bond between the acidic oxygen (the
oxygen attached to the acidic hydrogen). The easier it is for that O-H bond to break, the stronger the acid. In the following image,
we represent the "rest" of the acid as "Z."
The OH bond is easy to break when Z is either very electronegative or has a high oxidation state. An example of a class of weak
acids that are oxyacids is carboxylic acids. Carboxylic acids have a COOH group on the end, such as CH3COOH. Because of the
low electronegativity on the carbon, making the bond less polar, these acids are relatively weak.
There are many measures in AP Chemistry, especially relating to acids and bases and equilibrium. In this section, we will discuss
the relationships between pH and pKa, two of the most important measures!
‘p’ Notation
'p' notation is actually fairly simple and seen throughout acid-base chemistry (we have pH, pOH, pKa, pKb, and many more!). 'p'-
something is simply equal to the -log(something). For example, pH = -log(H+), and pOH = -log(OH-). Similarly, pKa = -log(Ka).
Like pH, where a lower pH corresponds to a higher [H+], a lower pKa implies a higher Ka. However, it is worth noting that a high
pKa does not imply basicity. Another note is that, like pH and pOH, pKa + pKb = 14.
pH, pKa, and Buffers
pH and pKa are also related to buffers. As a reminder, a buffer is a
mixture of an acid and its conjugate base and is important because it is
resistant to changes in pH. However, a question arises: when is the
buffer the strongest?
The strongest buffer occurs when the concentration of [A-] is equal to [HA]. In this case, pH = pKa + log(1) ⇒ pH = pKa. The
relationship is vital, especially when looking at titration curves, because this same point occurs at the half-equivalence point,
implying that you have the optimal buffer at the half-equivalence point.
Acid-Base Indicators
Finally, we will discuss acid-base indicators. Acid-base indicators are a class of compounds that change color depending on the pH
of the solution they are in. You may have used indicators in class during titrations to note when the equivalence point of a titration
occurs. Some examples of acid-base indicators are bromothymol blue,
phenolphthalein, and methyl red.
When choosing an acid-base indicator, you usually want to pick one in which
your pH will end up in the effective range, which is the pKa plus or minus 1.
While you will not need to memorize any indicators or their effective ranges on
the exam, you may be asked to pick which one is the most effective for a certain
experiment.
In order for the indicator to be useful to us, we want it to change color at the equivalence point for this titration. Looking at the
graph, we see that the pH at the equivalence point is 7. We also know this because it is a strong acid strong base titration.
Therefore, we want to pick an indicator with a pH range closest to 7. This turns out to be methyl red, which is the correct answ
8.8- Properties of Buffer
Buffers Review
As we mentioned, buffers are special solutions that are resistant to pH changes when adding acids or bases to them. Buffers are
formed in a very specific way: creating a solution of a weak acid and its conjugate base (or a weak base and its conjugate acid, but
the former is much more common).
It is important that the acid you create a buffer with is weak because otherwise, the conjugate base would not be a significant base.
For example, a mixture of HCl and NaCl would not be a buffer despite being a combination of an acid (HCl) and its conjugate base
(Cl-).
You may be asking then why any weak acid isn't a buffer. At equilibrium, there is so much more acid than the conjugate base
(assuming a low Ka) that the buffer effects are negligible. In order for a buffer to be effective, you must have comparable
concentrations of acid and conjugate base. In fact, the maximum buffer, the point at which the buffer most effectively resists pH
change, occurs when the concentration of acid is equal to the concentration of the conjugate base.
Solidify this concept by doing a few practice problems. For each of the pairs of compounds given, identify them as a pair that
would form a buffer or not form a buffer:
o The answer to this question is no. Although NaOH and Na+ are a base-conjugate acid pair, remember that NaOH is a
strong base. This means that Na+ is not a significant acid and will not form a buffer.
o The answer to this question is yes! When dissolved together, this pair will form a buffer. CH3COOH is a weak acid
(acetic acid AKA vinegar) with a Ka=1.8 * 10^(-5). Ca(CH3COO)2 is calcium acetate, which will dissociate into Ca2+
(a spectator ion as far as the buffer is concerned), and two moles of CH3COO-, the conjugate base of CH3COOH!
Because acetic acid is a weak acid, CH3COO- is a significant base, meaning that we will have a buffer.
o This pair does form a buffer. NH3 is a weak base, and NH4+ is a significant acid (and its conjugate acid), meaning this
pair forms a buffer. In this case, like Ca2+ in the previous example, the nitrate ion is simply a spectator.
HI and I:
o Like example one, this pair does not form a buffer. HI is a strong acid and cannot form buffers with its conjugate base
I- because I- is not a significant base.
KI and PbNO3:
o It should be pretty easy to see that this pair does not form a buffer. There are no acids or bases involved. In fact, when
you mix KI and PbNO3, you get the "golden rain" reaction, a precipitation reaction that forms PbI2 and KNO3. Take a
look!
Let's take a look at the Henderson-Hasselbalch equation and get ourselves situated with it:
This is where the Henderson-Hasselbalch equation ties into buffers because you will always have a concentration of conjugate base
and a concentration of conjugate acid. It also shows why the strongest buffer is when these concentrations are equal because then
log([A-]/[HA]) = 0.
Example Problems
Example Problem #1: Directly Stated Buffer
Find the pH of a buffer with 0.5M CH3COOH mixed with 0.25M CH3COONa (Ka = 1.8 * 10^-5).
Start by writing out our net ionic equation for this reaction:
Next, we can use stoichiometry to find how many mmol of each compound we have after the reaction goes forward:
Because we have concentrations of both an acid and its conjugate base, we can find the pH of this by finding the pH of that buffer
using the Henderson-Hasselbalch. Note that because we are dividing by the same volume to find concentration, they cancel out and
we can just divide the mmols:
For a quick reminder, buffers are important because they are resistant to changes in pH.
However, buffers are not infinitely resistant. Eventually, the buffer will weaken and succumb to the acid/base being added. This is
why, despite there being buffers in your bloodstream, chugging hydrochloric acid is a very bad idea. Seriously, don't do it!
Buffer capacity helps us see how much acid/base one can add until there is a significant change in pH.
What do we mean when we refer to magnitude? Essentially, the magnitude of each concentration describes how large the
concentrations are. A concentration of 5M would have a higher magnitude than a 0.5M solution. The more concentrated the acid
and conjugate base, the stronger the buffer is at reducing pH changes! There is more acid and conjugate base to be resistant to
strong acids/strong bases in a similar volume.
Example Problem: Identifying the Stronger Buffer
To practice applying buffer capacity, try thinking about two separate buffer systems, one with 5M acetic acid and 5M sodium
acetate and another with 0.05M acetic acid and 0.05M sodium acetate. Because the ratios of the conjugate base to the acid are the
same, both of these buffers will have the same pH (pH=4.74). However, our question asks us the following:
After HCl is added to each buffer system, the first one has a resulting pH of 4.74, and the second one has a resulting pH of 4.56.
Which one has the better buffering capacity and why?
We can see that in the first buffer, the pH remained relatively unchanged, whereas, in the second, the pH dropped. Because the first
system's pH remained constant, the first buffer is more effective at resisting pH changes and, therefore, has a better buffering
capacity. The magnitude of the concentration of both the acid and the conjugate base is higher in the first buffer compared to the
second, implying the first buffer will also have a stronger buffer capacity.
They could ask you to identify the stronger buffer, like in the last question, or ask about a change in a system and how this may
affect the buffer capacity.
We know that a student is creating a buffer of acetic acid (CH3COOH, also stated as HC2H3O2) and sodium acetate since a weak
acid mixes with its conjugate base. Now we can examine the numbers. The first set of numeric information indicates that the
student wants to mix 250 mL of 0.100M acetic acid with 500 mL of 0.440M sodium acetate.
Yikes! The student makes an error. They choose an acid with half the concentration and a conjugate base with half of the volume.
For acetic acid, the volume remains at 250mL, but the molarity is now 0.0500M. Meanwhile, the molarity of the sodium acetate
stays at 0.440M, but the volume falls from 500mL to 250mL. The problem wants to know the ramifications of these mistakes.
Before looking at the answer choices, what changed? In both sets (the weak acid and the conjugate base), the number of moles is
halved. Therefore, we will have half the number of moles of each species in our buffer.
Again, before looking at any answer choices, how is the buffer impacted? As we discussed earlier, a lower number of moles of
each reactant in the buffer creates less resistance to changes in pH. In other words, the buffer capacity lowers.
If we read the answer choices, we see that what we just described fits answer A. You may be tempted to pick B, but remember that
buffer capacity is determined by the number of moles of the weak acid and the conjugate base.