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Titration Sample Problem

Titration is a technique used to determine the concentration of an unknown substance by reacting it with a known volume and concentration of another substance. This document provides an example of using titration to determine the concentration of hydrochloric acid (HCl) by reacting it with a sodium hydroxide (NaOH) solution of a known concentration. The steps show how to calculate the moles of OH- in the NaOH solution, equate that to the moles of H+ produced, and use that to determine the molarity of the original HCl solution. Sources of error in titration calculations are also discussed.

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396 views

Titration Sample Problem

Titration is a technique used to determine the concentration of an unknown substance by reacting it with a known volume and concentration of another substance. This document provides an example of using titration to determine the concentration of hydrochloric acid (HCl) by reacting it with a sodium hydroxide (NaOH) solution of a known concentration. The steps show how to calculate the moles of OH- in the NaOH solution, equate that to the moles of H+ produced, and use that to determine the molarity of the original HCl solution. Sources of error in titration calculations are also discussed.

Uploaded by

PaulAcademics
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Acids and Bases: Titration Example Problem

By 
Todd Helmenstine
Updated January 24, 2020

Titration is an analytical chemistry technique used to find an unknown


concentration of an analyte (the titrand) by reacting it with a known volume and
concentration of a standard solution (called the titrant). Titrations are typically
used for acid-base reactions and redox reactions.

Here's an example problem determining the concentration of an analyte in an


acid-base reaction:
Titration Problem Step-by-Step Solution
A 25 ml solution of 0.5 M NaOH is titrated until neutralized into a 50 ml sample
of HCl. What was the concentration of the HCl?

Step 1: Determine [OH-]

Every mole of NaOH will have one mole of OH-. Therefore [OH-] = 0.5 M.

Step 2: Determine the number of moles of OH -

Molarity = number of moles/volume

Number of moles = Molarity x Volume

Number of moles OH- = (0.5 M)(0.025 L)


Number of moles OH- = 0.0125 mol

Step 3: Determine the number of moles of H+

When the base neutralizes the acid, the number of moles of H+ = the number of
moles of OH-. Therefore, the number of moles of H+ = 0.0125 moles.

Step 4: Determine the concentration of HCl

Every mole of HCl will produce one mole of H+; therefore, the number of moles of
HCl = number of moles of H+.

Molarity = number of moles/volume

Molarity of HCl = (0.0125 mol)/(0.05 L)


Molarity of HCl = 0.25 M

Answer

The concentration of the HCl is 0.25 M.


Another Solution Method
The above steps can be reduced to one equation:

MacidVacid = MbaseVbase (MaVa=MbVb)


where

Macid = concentration of the acid


Vacid = volume of the acid
Mbase = concentration of the base
Vbase = volume of the base

This equation works for acid/base reactions where the mole ratio between acid
and base is 1:1. If the ratio were different, as in Ca(OH)2 and HCl, the ratio would
be 1 mole acid to 2 moles base. The equation would now be:

MacidVacid = 2MbaseVbase

For the example problem, the ratio is 1:1:

MacidVacid = MbaseVbase

Macid(50 ml)= (0.5 M)(25 ml)

Macid = 12.5 MmL/50 ml


Macid = 0.25 M

Solve:

What was the concentration of HCl when a 38 ml


solution of 0.5 M NaOH is titrated until neutralized
into a 75 ml sample of HCl?
Ans. 0.25 M HCl
 Sample Study Sheet: Acid-Base Titration Problems
Tip-off – You are given the volume of a solution of an acid or base
(the titrant – solution 1) necessary to react completely with a
given volume of solution being titrated (solution 2). You are also
given the molarity of the titrant (solution 1). You are asked to
calculate the molarity of solution 2.  
General Procedure
o Use the unit analysis process, with the following general
format.
 

The first conversion factor is used only when you are not given
liters of solution 2. (Because you are usually given milliliters, you
may instead need to use a conversion factor that converts from
milliliters to liters.)
The second conversion factor is used only when you are not
given either milliliters or liters of solution 1. (You are usually given
milliliters, so if your molarity conversion factor is in the form that
includes "103 mL #1 soln", this conversion factor is not
necessary.)
The coefficients in the final conversion factor come from the
balanced equation for the reaction.
Complete the calculation in the usual way.
 
EXAMPLE:  Calculating Molarity from Titration Data
Titration reveals that 11.6 mL of 3.0 M sulfuric acid are required to
neutralize the sodium hydroxide in 25.00 mL of NaOH solution. What is
the molarity of the NaOH solution?
Solution:
H2SO4(aq)  +  2NaOH(aq)    →   2H2O(l)  +  Na2SO4(aq)

                                        =  2.8 M NaOH


Solve:
1. The Concentration of NaOH is 0.5 M if 20 ml is needed to
titrate 35 mL of acid, what is the concentration of the acid?

2. A 15.5 ml sample of 0.215 M KOH was titrated with a weak


acid. It took 21.2 mL of the acid to reach the equivalence point.
What is the molarity of the acid?

3. If 20.0 mL of 0.100 M HCl is titrated with 19.5 mL of a NaOH


solution. What is the molarity of the NaOH solution?

4. The Concentration of HCl, a strong acid is 0.5 M. If 20 ml HCl


is needed to titrate 40 mL of NaOH, what is the Concentration
of NaOH?
  
5. The Concentration of LiOH is 0.50 M. If 25 mL of LiOH is
needed to titrate 40 mL of HNO3 (nitric acid) what is the
Concentration of HNO3?

a. 6. A. 

0.03125 M HNO3

b. B. 

0.8 M HNO3
c. C. 

0.3125 M HNO3

d. D. 

0.08 M HNO3

e. 5. A. 

0.25 M NaOH

f. B. 

0.5 M NaOH

g. C. 

1 M NaOH

h. D. 

0.1 M NaOH

 4. A. 

0.0975 M NaOH

 B. 

0.0103 M NaOH

 C. 

0.103 M NaOH

 D. 

0.975 M NaOH
 3. A. 

0.157 M acid

 B. 

0.29 M acid

 C. 

0.0157 M acid

 D. 

0.029 M acid

 2. A. 

0.875 M of acid

 B. 

0.0029 M of the acid

 C. 

0.29 M of the acid

 D. 

0.00875 M of acid
Error in Titration Calculations
Different methods are used to determine the equivalence point of a titration. No
matter which method is used, some error is introduced, so the concentration
value is close to the true value, but not exact. For example, if a colored pH
indicator is used, it might be difficult to detect the color change. Usually, the
error here is to go past the equivalence point, giving a concentration value that is
too high.

Another potential source of error when an acid-base indicator is used is if water


used to prepare the solutions contains ions that would change the pH of the
solution. For example, if hard tap water is used, the starting solution would be
more alkaline than if distilled deionized water had been the solvent.

If a graph or titration curve is used to find the endpoint, the equivalence point is a
curve rather than a sharp point. The endpoint is a sort of "best guess" based on
the experimental data.

The error can be minimized by using a calibrated pH meter to find the endpoint
of an acid-base titration rather than a color change or extrapolation from a graph.

https://www.thoughtco.com/acids-and-bases-titration-example-problem-609598

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