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ChemistryGCSE, IGCSE & A Level

What is titration?

A titration is a quantitative technique that finds an unknown concentration by reacting it with a solution of known concentration until the end point.

Titration explained

A pipette delivers a fixed volume into a conical flask, and a burette adds the standard solution dropwise until the indicator changes colour permanently.
Repeat until titres agree within 0.10 cm³, discard the rough run, and average only the concordant results before calculating.

Key formula

c1V1×ratio=c2V2c_{1}V_{1} \times \text{ratio} = c_{2}V_{2}

Worked example

25.0 cm325.0\,\text{cm}^{3} of NaOH neutralised by 22.4 cm322.4\,\text{cm}^{3} of 0.100 mol dm−30.100\,\text{mol dm}^{-3} HCl gives c(NaOH)=0.0896 mol dm−3c(\text{NaOH}) = 0.0896\,\text{mol dm}^{-3}.

Examiner tip

Read the burette from the bottom of the meniscus at eye level, and always quote titres to two decimal places ending in 0 or 5.

Titration: common questions

Which indicator should I use?
Phenolphthalein for strong base with strong or weak acid, and methyl orange for strong acid with weak base. Never use either for weak acid with weak base.
Why rinse the burette with the solution it will hold?
Residual water would dilute the solution and make the recorded titre too large.

Related terms

Concentration

Concentration is the amount of solute dissolved in a given volume of solution, usually in moles per cubic decimetre.

Mole

A mole is the amount of substance containing 6.02 × 10²³ particles — the chemist's counting unit that links mass to number of particles.

pH

pH is a logarithmic measure of hydrogen ion concentration: the lower the pH, the more acidic the solution.

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