Royal Government of Bhutan

Department of Education
Punakha Higher Secondary School
Department of Chemistry

TITRATION IN CHEMISTRY AND

ITS APPLICATION

Submitted by: Dev Raj Dungana

XII Sci. C

TITRATION IN CHEMISTRY AND ITS

APPLICATION

Content
Sl. No.

Topics

Page No.

I.

Acknowledgement

II.

Introduction

III.

Definition & Histological Background

IV.

Terms and Procedures

4-5

V.

Types of titration and endpoint

5-7

VI.

Applications & Calculations

VII.

Conclusion

VIII.

References

10

CHEMISTRY ASSIGNMENT/2015/DEV RAJ

TITRATION IN CHEMISTRY AND ITS

APPLICATION

Acknowledgement
This assignment is a collective work of mine. I have done a bit of research from various sources
so that the content required as per the topic is met.
I have used various textbooks as a reference from which only few terms related to the topic is
copied. I have credited images from few websites for which the copyrights are not altered by any
means. Im indebted to the helping hands from the external sources for giving me ideas on how
to organize the topics for fine presentations.
My due thanks are to the subject teacher for timely concern and assessment. Indebtedness also
goes to all the external resource providers for rendering me with help on time.

CHEMISTRY ASSIGNMENT/2015/DEV RAJ

TITRATION IN CHEMISTRY AND ITS

APPLICATION

Introduction
Titration and its application in chemistry is an assignment which covers all the related topics
based on titration.
The first topic of this assignment deals with the simplest definition of what titration means and
the history of how this technique evolved. Titration is an application of practical chemistry, so
the procedures for quick understanding is also included.
Various terms are used in titration. To understand titration, these terms are vitals and are
provided to learn more about it. Different types of titration is there and are necessary to know
about it, so its inclusion in this assignment is a must.
There are also few simple calculations involved after titration and are provided with examples in
nutshell. This assignment is going to be a great help in preparing for practical BHSEC
examination.

Fig: common titration setup

CHEMISTRY ASSIGNMENT/2015/DEV RAJ

TITRATION IN CHEMISTRY AND ITS

APPLICATION

Definition
Titration, also called titrimetry, is a common laboratory method of quantitative chemical
analysis that is used to determine the unknown concentration of an identified analyte. Since
volume measurements play a key role in titration, it is also known as volumetric analysis.
Analyte (A) - is a solution of the substance whose concentration is unknown and sought in the
analysis.

Histological Background
The word "titration" comes from the Latin word titulus, meaning title.
Volumetric analysis originated in late 18th-century France. Franois-Antoine-Henri Descroizilles
developed the first burette (which was similar to a graduated cylinder) in 1791. Joseph Louis
Gay-Lussac developed an improved version of the burette that included a side arm, and coined
the terms "pipette" and "burette" in an 1824 paper on the standardization of indigo solutions. A
major breakthrough in the methodology and popularization of volumetric analysis was due to
Karl Friedrich Mohr, who redesigned the burette by placing a clamp and a tip at the bottom.

Terms
Titrant (T): is a solution in which the concentration of a solute is precisely known.
Titration Curve: A titration curve is a curve in the plane whose x-coordinate is the volume of
titrant added since the beginning of the titration, and whose y-coordinate is the concentration of
the analyte (in an acid-base titration, the y-coordinate is usually the pH of the solution).

Molarity (M): it is the number of moles of solute dissolved per litre of solution at that particular
temperature.

CHEMISTRY ASSIGNMENT/2015/DEV RAJ

TITRATION IN CHEMISTRY AND ITS

APPLICATION

Procedure
A typical titration begins with a beaker or containing a very precise volume of the analyte. Small
volumes of the titrant are then added to the analyte and indicator until the indicator changes color
in reaction to the titrant saturation threshold, reflecting arrival at the endpoint of the titration.
Depending on the endpoint desired, single drops or less than a single drop of the titrant can make
the difference between a permanent and temporary change in the indicator. When the endpoint of
the reaction is reached, the volume of reactant consumed is measured and used to calculate the
concentration of analyte.

Types of Titration
There are many types of titrations with different procedures and goals. The most common types
of qualitative titration are acid-base titrations and redox titrations.
a. Acid-base titration
Acid-base titrations depend on the neutralization between an acid and a base when mixed
in solution. In addition to the sample, an appropriate pH indicator is added to the titration
chamber, reflecting the pH range of the
equivalence point. The acid-base
indicator indicates the endpoint of the
titration by changing color. The endpoint
and the equivalence point are not exactly
the same because the equivalence point
is determined by the stoichiometry of the
reaction while the endpoint is just the
color change from the indicator. Thus, a
careful selection of the indicator will
reduce the indicator error.

Fig: acid-base titration using methyl orange indicator

CHEMISTRY ASSIGNMENT/2015/DEV RAJ

TITRATION IN CHEMISTRY AND ITS

APPLICATION

Indicator

Color on acidic side

Range of colour change

Color on basic side

Methyl orange

Red

3.14.4

Yellow

Methyl red

Red

4.46.3

Yellow

Litmus

Red

5.08.0

Blue

Phenolphthalein

Colorless

8.310.0

Pink

b. Redox titration
Redox titrations are based on a reduction-oxidation reaction between an oxidizing agent
and a reducing agent. A potentiometer or a redox indicator is usually used to determine the
endpoint of the titration, as when one of the constituents is the oxidizing agent potassium
dichromate. The color change of the solution from orange to green is not definite, therefore
an indicator such as sodium diphenylamine is used. Analysis of wines for sulfur dioxide
requires iodine as an oxidizing agent. In this case, starch is used as an indicator; a blue
starch-iodine complex is formed in the presence of excess iodine, signalling the endpoint.
Some redox titrations do not require an indicator, due to the intense color of the constituents

Fig: Color of iodometric titration mixture before (left) and after (right) the end point

CHEMISTRY ASSIGNMENT/2015/DEV RAJ

TITRATION IN CHEMISTRY AND ITS

APPLICATION

Other types of titration

Besides the common acid-base and redox titrations, there are other complex forms of titrations
which are not so common in practice. Some of them are listed below:

Gas phase titration

Complexometric titration
Zeta potential titration
Assay

Miscellaneous
Karl Fischer titration: A potentiometric method to analyze trace amounts of water in a
substance. A sample is dissolved in methanol, and titrated with Karl Fischer reagent. The reagent
contains iodine, which reacts proportionally with water. Thus, the water content can be
determined by monitoring the potential of excess iodine.

Measuring the end-point of titration

Indicator: A substance that changes color in response to a chemical change. An acid-base
indicator (e.g., phenolphthalein) changes color depending on the pH. Redox indicators are also
used. A drop of indicator solution is added to the titration at the beginning; the endpoint has been
reached when the color changes.

Fig: noticing the colour changes

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TITRATION IN CHEMISTRY AND ITS

APPLICATION

Applications of Titration
1. Acid-Base Titration applications

In biodiesel: Waste vegetable oil (WVO) must be neutralized before a batch may be
processed. A portion of WVO is titrated with a base to determine acidity, so the rest of
the batch may be properly neutralized. This removes free fatty acids from the WVO that
would normally react to make soap instead of biodiesel.
Acid value: The mass in milligrams of potassium hydroxide (KOH) required to titrate
fully an acid in one gram of sample. An example is the determination of free fatty acid
content.
Saponification value: The mass in milligrams of KOH required to saponify a fatty acid
in one gram of sample. Saponification is used to determine average chain length of fatty
acids in fat.

2. Redox titrations

Winkler test for dissolved oxygen: Used to determine oxygen concentration in water.
Vitamin C: Also known as ascorbic acid, vitamin C is a powerful reducing agent. Its
concentration can easily be identified when titrated with the blue dye
Dichlorophenolindophenol (DCPIP) which turns colorless when reduced by the
vitamin.
Iodine number: A measure of unsaturation in an analyte, expressed in grams of iodine
absorbed by 100 grams of sample.
Note: there are few calculations to be done after every titrations. Calculations include
finding of
1V1

a. Concentration using: M2V2 = n1/n2; M denotes Molarity

b. Strength: molarity mol.mass
c. Percentage Purity:

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TITRATION IN CHEMISTRY AND ITS

APPLICATION

Conclusion
This assignment in nutshell covers all the basics of titration. Titration is one of the practical
aspect of class XII, BHSEC examination. Many types of titrations are there in analytical
chemistry purely focusing to determine the unknown concentration of an analyte. But, according
to the syllabus, only acid-base and oxidation-reduction (redox) titrations are given preference.

Accordingly, basics of titration is given in this assignment prcising its procedure, types and its
applications. Optimistically, this assignment is going to be of great help from examination as
well as future preparation.

CHEMISTRY ASSIGNMENT/2015/DEV RAJ

TITRATION IN CHEMISTRY AND ITS

APPLICATION

References
Name of the author

Name of the book

Date of publication/ Publisher

R.D Madan & B.S Bisht

ISC Chemistry

1992, S. Chand & Company Ltd

B.S Bahl, G.D Tuli & Arun Bahl

Essentials of Physical chemistry

1994, S. Chand & Company Ltd

N. Kundu & S.K Jain

Physical Chemistry

1997, S. Chand & Company Ltd

D.N Bajpai

Advanced Physical chemistry

2002, S. Chand & Company Ltd

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