GHAAZEE SCHOOL Subject: Chemistry
Hulhumale’ Grade: 9
ACID-BASE TITRATION
• Titrations are a method of analysing the concentration of solutions.
• They can determine exactly how much alkali is needed to neutralise a quantity
of acid – and vice versa.
• Titrations can also be used to prepare salt.
MATERIALS REQUIRED:
• 25 cm3 volumetric pipette • 0.1 mol/dm3 sodium hydroxide
• Pipette filler solution
• 50 cm3 burette • Sulfuric acid – concentration
• 250 cm3 conical flask unknown
• Small funnel • A suitable indicator
• Clamp stand, clamp & white tile
APPARATUS NEEDED & THEIR USES:
Pipette filler:
To take liquid into
the volumetric
Conical flask: pipette safely
Used as a
titration flask.
It is calibrated to Small funnel White tile
measure accurately Volumetric Pipette:
a range of volumes used to transfer used to see the
it is calibrated to
of solutions. solution into a endpoint or
measure fixed volumes
Usually, 50cm3 burette safely colour change
such as 25cm3.
burette is used. without spilling. clearly/more
easily.
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PROCEDURE
Using the pipette
• Wash 2 or 3 conical flasks with distilled water in order to remove any
contaminants or residues that maybe present in the flask from any previous
experiments carried out. However, the conical flasks should not be rinsed with
the solution that it is going take since rinsing with acid or alkali can increase the
number of moles and hence can increase the concentration of the solution.
• Using a pipette filler suck some alkali into the pipette and washes the inside by
allowing it to drain out.
• Now using the pipette filler take alkali into the pipette up to the graduation mark.
• Slowly allow the alkali to flow into one of the cleaned conical flasks and hold
the pipette in contact with the flask and its tip for about 3seconds. This will allow
proper amount of alkali to be drawn out into the flask.
Using the burette
• First rinse the burette with distilled water to remove any impurities or
contaminants from a previous experiment. Followed by that, it should be rinsed
with the solution that it is going to measure because if the burette is not dry then
some amount of distilled water on the inside of the burette can make the
solution dilute hence can affect the concentration.
• Close the tap and clamp the burette with the stand.
• Pour the acid into the burette using a filter funnel up to 0 cm3 marked.
• Make sure there are no air bubbles trapped inside and the burette is ready for
use.
• It is important to run some acid out of the burette after it has been filled for the
first time in an experiment in order to ensure the acid is on the scale and also
to fill the tap / to fill part of burette below tap / to fill all of the burette / to fill the
jet.
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Performing the titration
• Add few drops of indicator to the alkali in the conical flask.
• Place the flask under the tip of the burette and should be placed under a white
tile so that the colour change of the indicator would be clear. Note if the titration
involves reagents that can produce white cloudy product, then a black or dark
coloured sheet of paper can be placed instead of the white tile as dark coloured
sheet helps to see the cloudiness easier.
• Note the initial reading of the burette.
• Allow to flow the acid from the burette into the alkali in the conical flask and the
shake the flask or swirl the conical flask so that the acid will be fully mixed with
the alkali and evenly distributed and fully react with the alkali and hence the
indicator can show the overall acidity of the solution.
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• Notice the change in colour of the indicator until you reach the endpoint. The
endpoint is where the indicator is just changing from its colour in alkali to its
colour in acid.
• Note the final reading of the burette in a table of results.
• Fill the burette and repeat the procedures to take 3 or 4 readings and then find
the average reading in order to increase the reliability of the results.
Note: warming the acid or alkali before adding or mixing will have no effect on the
volume that is required to neutralize since temperature does not change the amount
of the acid /alkali.
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Indicator colour changes
Indicator used Solution in the Solution in the End-point indicator
conical flask burette colour change
Methyl orange acid alkali Red to orange
Methyl orange alkali acid Yellow to orange
thymolphthalein acid alkali Colourless to blue
thymolphthalein alkali acid Bue to colourless
Note: if the reagents are coloured solutions and if there is a change of colour at the
endpoint, no indicator is required. Universal indicator cannot be used as it gives
multiple colours.
How to read colour change in titration related questions
• Read the question well and identify the indicator used in the experiment.
• Next identify the solution that is present in the conical flask.
• Initial colour will be the colour of the content in the conical flask with the
indicator, followed by the colour of the content present in the burette with the
given indicator, and that will be the final colour.
Thymolphthalein indicator
• Thymolphthalein indicator is an acid-base indicator. Its transition range is
around pH 9.3–10.5. Below this pH, it is colorless; above, it is blue.
• Titrations experiments, where a mixture of equal amount of two indicators may
produce varying colours at different volumes of acids or alkalis used. For
example, when 5 drops of methyl orange and 5 drops of thymolphthalein
indicator added to a conical flask containing 25cm3 of sodium hydroxide, initially
the colour could be green. Since methyl orange in alkaline is yellow and
thymolphthalein is blue and the mix of blue and yellow can produce green
colour.
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How to read burette readings:
• The purpose of burette readings is to identify the amount of solution that has
been dispensed into the conical flask for the neutralization process.
• Unlike many volumetric glassware, the zero scale on a burette is written on the
top, hence reading has to be taken from top to bottom.
• During reading ensure the eye is at the same level as the meniscus to avoid an
error. The values has to be written to one decimal point.
Example:
2.7 20.3
• By subtracting the initial reading from the final reading will give the
volume of solution required for neutralization.
• The reliability of the results obtained from a titration can be checked by
repeating the titration and comparing the results.
• In titration, volume of solution transferred to the conical flask uses
volumetric pipette to measure the solution. The advantage is pipette
measures the fixed volume accurately, however the disadvantage is it
takes time and is slower. Measuring cylinder is not used since it does
not measure the volume accurately, however its advantage is
measurement can be done quickly.
Comparing the concentration of solutions used
• In any two or more titration experiments, if the reagent in the conical flasks
contain the same concentrated solutions and the burettes are having same
reagents with different concentration, the experiment that requires less volume
from the burette to neutralize the content in the conical flask will be the most
concentrated solution since smaller volume is enough to neutralize reflecting
its higher concentration.
• Similarly, if any given experiments use same reagent with the same
concentration in burette, and two different concentrated solutions in the conical
flask, the one that needs more volume from the burette to neutralize will be the
most concentrated solution since it needs more in order to reach the end point.
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