Titration: Finding an Unknown Concentration
Run an acid and alkali titration to a single indicator end point, then use the mole ratio in the equation to calculate the unknown concentration from concordant titres.
What a learner can do afterwards
- Describes the apparatus and the steps, including rinsing, swirling, and repeating until titres agree
- Selects the concordant titres and takes the mean, discarding the rough run
- Calculates moles from concentration and volume and crosses the mole ratio to the other reactant
- Names one source of error and says which way it pushes the calculated concentration
1 · Read
A titration finds an unknown concentration from one you know. A burette holds acid of known strength. A pipette measures a fixed volume of alkali, often 25.0 cm3, into a flask with a few drops of indicator. Rinse each piece of glassware with the solution it will hold, never with water. Then drip acid in with swirling until the colour flips. Run one rough titration first to find the endpoint zone.
Repeat until the titres agree within 0.1 cm3. Those agreeing titres are concordant. The rough run never joins the mean. With a rough 25.4 plus 24.8, 24.6 and 24.7, drop the rough and average the rest. Add 24.8, 24.6 and 24.7 to get 74.1, then divide by 3 to get 24.7 cm3.
Turn the mean titre into an answer. Moles equal concentration times volume in dm3. Suppose 25.0 cm3 of alkali needed 22.4 cm3 of 0.1 mol/dm3 acid in a 1 to 1 reaction. Acid moles are 0.1 times 0.0224, which is 0.00224. The ratio gives 0.00224 mol of alkali. Divide by 0.025 dm3 to get 0.0896 mol/dm3.
Name each error and the way it pushes the result. Overshooting the endpoint inflates the titre, so the calculated concentration comes out too high. A burette rinsed with water dilutes the acid, so the result comes out too low. Technique decides accuracy, so go drop by drop near the end.
Rinse, drip to the endpoint, average the concordant titres, and turn the mean into moles and back.
2 · Watch
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Where it sits
Learn first
Where this leads
Jobs that lean on this skill. Follow one to see everything it is built on.
8 questions wait behind this lesson, each with its answer explained. Every answer feeds the sky: stars light as they are learned, and dim when it is time to come back.