Acid - Base Titrations: Chemistry 142 B Autumn Quarter 2004 James B. Callis, Instructor

Acid – Base Titrations
Chemistry 142 B
Autumn Quarter 2004
James B. Callis, Instructor
Titration Curve
A titration curve is a plot of pH vs. the

amount of titrant added. Typically the
titrant is a strong (completely)
dissociated acid or base. Such curves
are useful for determining endpoints
and dissociation constants of weak
acids or bases.
Features of the Strong Acid-Strong Base
Titration Curve
1. The pH starts out low, reflecting the high [H3O+] of the

strong acid and increases gradually as acid is neutralized
by the added base.
2. Suddenly the pH rises steeply. This occurs in the
immediate vicinity of the equivalence point. For this type
of titration the pH is 7.0 at the equivalence point.
3. Beyond this steep portion, the pH increases slowly as more
base is added.
Sample Calculation: Strong Acid-Strong
Base Titration Curve
Problem 24-1. Consider the titration of 40.0 mL of 0.100 M
HCl with 0.100 M NaOH.
Region 1. Before the equivalence point, after adding 20.0 mL of
0.100 M NaOH. (Half way to the equivalence point.)
Initial moles of H3O+ =
- Moles of OH- added =

 amount (mol) of H O remaining
[H 3O ]  3
original volume of acid  volume of added base
Base Titration Curve (Cont. I)
Region 2. At the equivalence point, after adding 40.0 mL of 0.100
M NaOH.
Initial moles of H3O+ = 0.0400 L x 0.100 M = 0.00400 M H3O+
- Moles of OH- added = 0.0400 L x 0.100 M =0.00400 mol OH-

 amount (mol) of H O remaining
[H3O ]  3
Base Titration Curve (cont. II)
Region 3. After the equivalence point, after adding 50.0 mL of 0.100
M NaOH. (Now calculate excess OH-)
Total moles of OH- = 0.0500 L x 0.100 M = 0.00500 mol OH- -
Moles of H3O+ consumed = 0.0400 L x 0.100 M =0.00400 mol

 amount (mol) of OH remaining
[OH ] 
HPr = Propionic Acid
The four Major Differences Between a Strong
Acid-Strong Base Titration Curve and a Weak
Acid-Strong Base Titration Curve
1. The initial pH is higher.

2. A gradually rising portion of the curve,
called the buffer region, appears before
the steep rise to the equivalence point.
3. The pH at the equivalence point is greater
than 7.00.
4. The steep rise interval is less pronounced.
Sample Calculation: Weak Acid-Strong
Base Titration Curve
HPr (Ka = 1.3 x 10-5) with 0.100 M NaOH.
Region 1. The solution of weak acid to be titrated, before any base
is added.
Solution:
Ans:
Base Titration Curve (Cont.I)
Region 2. After 30. mL of base (total) has been added. This is
clearly in the buffer region of the titration curve.
Solution: Refer to Lecture 23.
Can use the calculator program, ‘Buf’ developed in lecture 23. But
first must calculate the nominal amounts of acid and base forms of
the weak acid created by addition of the strong base. These are:
[HA]0 =
[A-]0 =
Ans: From buffer program: pH =
Base Titration Curve (Cont.ll)
Region 3. After 40. mL of base (total) has been added. This is
clearly at the equivalence point of the titration curve.
Solution: Refer to Lecture 23.
Can use the calculator program developed in lecture 23. But first
must calculate the nominal amounts of acid and base forms of the
weak acid created by addition of the strong base. These are:
[HA]0 =
[A-]0 =
Ans: From buffer program: pH =
Base Titration Curve (cont. IIl)
Region 4. After the equivalence point, after adding 50.0 mL of 0.100
M NaOH. (Now calculate excess OH-)
Total moles of OH- = -
Moles of weak acid consumed =
Moles of OH- remaining =

 amount (mol) of OH remaining after neutralizatin
[OH ] 
The four Major Differences Between a Weak
Acid-Strong Base Titration Curve and a Weak
Base-Strong Acid Titration Curve
1. The initial pH is above 7.00.
2. A gradually decreasing portion of the curve,
called the buffer region, appears before a
steep fall to the equivalence point.
3. The pH at the equivalence point is less than
7.00.
4. Thereafter, the pH decreases slowly as
excess strong acid is added.
Features of the Titration of a
Polyprotic Acid with a Strong Base
1. The loss of each mole of H+ shows up as
separate equivalence point (but only if the
two pKas are separated by more than 3 pK
units).
2. The pH at the midpoint of the buffer region
is equal to the pKa of that acid species.
3. The same volume of added base is required
to remove each mole of H+.
Acid-Base Indicators and the
Measurement of pH
• Definition: A weak organic acid, HIn that has a different
color than its conjugate base, In-, with the color change
occurring over a specific and relatively narrow pH range.
• Typically, one or both forms are intensely colored, so only
a tiny amount of indicator is needed, far too little to
perturb the pH of the solution.
• Since the indicator molecule is a weak acid, the ratio of the
two forms governed by the [H3O+] of the test solution:
 
HIn(aq)  H 2O(l )  H 3O (aq)  In (aq) Ka of HIn 
H O In 
3
 
HIn
Therefore :
HIn  H 3O  
In -  K a 
Let us consider quantitatively, the case of titrating a weak
acid with a strong base. If the weak acid has one
dissociable proton, then the overall reaction is:
HA + OH- = A- + H20
We will assume that the strong base NaOH and the weak
acid anion NaA are completely dissociated in solution.
Furthermore, we will not neglect the contribution of the

dissociation of water.
Our Titration System is Governed by
Four Equations
acid - base equilibrium
water hydrolysis
charge balance
material balance
• Such a system has 8 experimentally measurable variables: Ka, Kw, [HA]0 and [NaOH]0
• If we assume that the first four (Ka, Kw, [HA]0 and [NaOH]0) are known, then we are left with 4 equations in 4 unknowns.
• Of the 4 unknowns, the only one we can conveniently measure is [H +]. This suggests that we solve the four equations for
[H+] by successive elimination.
The Exact Solution to the Titration Problem
We now proceed to solve the four equations for [H+] by successive
elimination of variables. The result for [H+] is
Finding [H+] requires that we find the three roots of the above cubic
equation and then selecting the one root that is consistent with
physical reality, i.e. leads to all positive concentrations. Fortunately,
in the above case only one root is positive and the other two are
negative.
This positive root can be found by the ‘Solver’ function of your
calculator. You can make a wild guess that is positive and the
calculator will converge to the correct answer.
Answers
1. Region 1, pH = 1.477, Region 2, pH = 7.000, Region 3,
pH = 12.046
2. Region 1, pH = 2.95 , Region 2, pH = 5.36 , Region 3,
pH = 8.79 , Region 4 = 12.05

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Acid – Base Titrations

A titration curve is a plot of pH vs. the

1. The pH starts out low, reflecting the high [H3O+] of the

1. The initial pH is higher.

Furthermore, we will not neglect the contribution of the

acid - base equilibrium

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