Acid-Base Titration

Emma Savastano
Aurora Della Volpe, Arden Lawrence, Aisling Lynch
December 14th, 2023
December 21st, 2023
SCH4U1, Mrs. K. Newton
Introduction:
Titration is a laboratory technique used to determine the concentration of an unknown solution. To do
this, a standardized solution with a known concentration is required.
It requires a sampl, which is placed in a flask, and a solution, called titrant, added slowly into the sample
using a burette. The titrant is a standard solution, a solution with a precise concentration, formed by
distilled water and a primary standard, which is a pure and stable chemical used to determine the
concentration of an unknown solution. The titrant is added until the endpoint, which is usually very
visible by previously adding indicator that changes colour at a certain pH.
Nowadays, titration is used in various fields such as food processing, in order to determine whether the
standars are met or not, chemical, and pharmaceutical manufacturing to determine the concentration of
active ingredients. (Bell-Young).

Purpose:
The purpose of the titration is to determine the concentration of an unknown sample by making it react
with a standardized solution of known concentration.

Materials:
As in Chemistry 12 (Nelson) page 571-572, Investigation 8.7.1

*lab apron was not used

Method:
As in Chemistry 12 (Nelson) page 571-572, Investigation 8.7.1, part A and B

Observations:
o 40g of NaOH crystals was measured and dissolved in 200mL.
o 10 mL of NaOH solution was diluted in 500mL of distilled water.
o 0.4 g of KHC8H4O4 was measured.
o 50 mL of NaOH solution was measured and put in the burette.
o 25 mL of acetic acid was measured and put in the flask.
While mixing the solution in the flask, the colour slowly started to
change, however it immediately disappeared. When the endpoint was
reached, the light pink colour finally stayed.
o 46 mL of NaOH solution was required to reach the endpoint in the
first experiment.
o 45.3 mL of NaOH was required to reach the endpoint in the second
experiment.
o 45.3 mL of NaOH was required to reach the endpoint in the third
experiment.
o The pH for the final solution was 8.

#1 #2 #3
# of mL of NaOH 46 mL 45.3 mL 45.3 mL
 Average 45.5 mL
pH 8

Calculations/analysis:
Discussion:
In a titration, the main purpose is to determine the concentration of an unknown acid, which can be used
to obtain the pH of the final solution. As measured during the laboratory with a litmus paper, the expected
pH for the final solution was 8.
During the titration, the amount of base required to reach the endpoint should be the same for all the
three repetitions. According to the data measured during the laboratory, the amount of NaOH solution
needed to reach the endpoint was: 46mL, 45.3mL and 45.3mL, with an average of 45.5mL. Since the values
are very similar, the accuracy is quite high. The endpoint is visible by previously adding an indicator (in this
case, phenolphtalein indicator), which is going to change the colour of the solution from transparent to
light pink at a certain pH.
The pH curve for the titration of weak acid and strong base has a higher equivalence point (> 7). In this
type of titration, the strong acid titrant is completely ionized. To determine the pH, first of all the Kb of the
weak base is needed; at the equivalence point, the pH is calculated by using the Ka of the conjugate acid,
which is acidic (< 7); from the calculations, the pH at this point was 2.53. At the end, the pH is determined
from the pOH by subtracting it to 14.
From the calculations, a pH of 8.37 was measured, while the expected result was a pH of 8, which means
that an accuracy percentage of 96% is reached.
The titrant sodium hydroxide (NaOH) was standardized using a standard solution using the following
balanced equation:
NaOH + KHC8H4O4 = NaKHC8H4O4 + H2O
Moreover, the acetic acid CH3COOH was formed as follows:
C2H3O2 = HC2H3O2 + OH-
To conclude, the reaction between the strong base NaOH and the weak acid HC2H3O2 is:
NaOH + HC2H3O2 = H2O + C2H3O2- + Na+
Conclusion:
As analyzed in the laboratory report, the titration is often used to calculate the concentration of an
unknown solution by reacting it with a standardized base. The purpose of this experiment was to
accurately measure the volume of the base required to neutralize the acid and use this information to
calculate the molar concentration of the acid. The results obtained from the titration were recorded, and
the data was used to perform calculations. The titration was repeated three times to make the results as
accurate as possible. In conclusion, the purpose of this titration experiment was achieved, as the
concentration of the unknown acid solution was determined.

Sources:
Bell-Young Lucy (2021). What is Titration Used For in Real Life? https://www.chemicals.co.uk/blog/what-
is-titration-used-for-in-real-life#