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Lesson 45 · Titration
The burette finds the unknown
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The burette finds the unknown

A titration measures a concentration you cannot see by reacting it away with one you know. A measured aliquot of the unknown acid (volume VaV_a) waits in the flask; a standard base (concentration CbC_b) drips from the burette until the indicator turns — the equivalence point, where the moles have exactly annihilated each other. At that instant CaVa=n CbVbC_a V_a = n\,C_b V_b — read aloud: C-a V-a equals n C-b V-b, where nn is the mole ratio, moles of acid per mole of base.

For HCl against NaOH the dance is one-to-one: n=1n = 1. Sulfuric acid brings TWO protons per molecule, so each acid particle spends two of the base: n=0.5n = 0.5. And since VaV_a and VbV_b meet as a ratio, millilitres cancel millilitres — the one formula in this chapter where nobody converts anything.

VbCbnCaVa

Ca=n CbVbVaC_a = \frac{n\,C_b V_b}{V_a}

  • CaC_a= Analyte concentration (molar concentration)
  • VaV_a= Analyte volume (aliquot) (volume)
  • CbC_b= Titrant concentration (molar concentration)
  • VbV_b= Titre volume delivered (volume)
  • nn= Mole ratio (analyte per titrant)
Titration: Concentration of an Unknown solver →