Lesson 3 - Acid-Base Reactions

Abrar Chowdhury
December 2023

Syllabus Points to Cover:

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• Conduct practical investigations to analyse the concentration of an un-

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known acid or base by titration.
• Model neutralisation of strong and weak acids and bases using a variety

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of media.
• Investigate titration curves and conductivity graphs to analyse data to
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indicate characteristic reaction profiles, for example:
– Strong Acid/Strong Base
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– Strong Acid/Weak Base

– Weak Acid/Strong Base
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• Explore acid/base analysis techniques that are applied:

– by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples
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Chemistry Intensive Course Notes Abrar Chowdhury

What are Titrations?

Simply put, titrations are a volumetric method of determining the concentra-
tion of an acid or base solution by using another base/acid which is of known
concentration (i.e. a standard). But this begs some questions. How do
you know when you’re at the point of neutralisation? What’s the technique
you should use to minimise the errors that can be made when standardising a
substance?

A Common Misconception about Neutralisation

Neutralisation does not mean that there is no OH – or H+ in solution,

it just means that there is an equal concentration of them both.

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In this course, the hardest part of dealing with titrations is not the calculations,
but rather explaining and understanding the technique.

Titration Technique
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Before we try understand titration technique, there are a few common terms
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used in titrations you should know:
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• analyte/analyte solution: A solution of unknown concentration
but known volume whose concentration you are trying to determine
• titrant/titrant solution: A solution of known concentration and
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known volume that is used in a titration to determine the concentration

of the analyte.
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• gradauated pipette: A thin, elongated, highly precise and calibrated

glassware that is used to transfer solutions between different containers
accurately.
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Figure 1: Graduated pipette and pipette bulb

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• pipette bulb: A device that, when squeezed, evacuates air from within
a pipette and creates a low pressure air seal that draws a solution up a
pipette.
• burette: volumetric glassware with a stopcock in which an analyte/ti-
trant is placed in a titration.
– stopcock: a device at the bottom of a burette that acts as a tap.
It regulates the rate at which solution falls from the burette and can
stop the rate of flow completely when the endpoint has been reached.
• titre: The volume of titrant/analyte solution that is required to com-
pletely neutralise the other solution. This value is used

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• rough titration: A single titration can take a long time as the stopcock
of the burette needs to be set at a slowpace so as to not overshoot the

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amount of analyte/titrant added. To minimise the time this takes, an
initial rough titration is carried out where

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A Common Trick in HSC Titration Questions

In many HSC questions, many titration trials are carried out to

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improve the reliability of the results. However, the first trial is
usually a rough titration whose titre value is an outlier to the rest of
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the data. So when you are calculating the analyte’s concentration,
you should calculate the average titre without the rough titration
and write in brackets (excluding rough titration outlier ). Markers
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very frequently attribute a mark on the marking criteria for being

able to identify this!
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• aliquot: A volume of solution that is transferred between beakers/bu-

rettes (typically with a pipette). An example of this in an instruction
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is “using a 25mL graduated pipette, transfer a 20mL aliquot of

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the 0.1M HCl standard from the volumetric flask into the rinsed
beaker”.

Rinsing Technique
Titrations are procedures that demand highly precise methodology. Whether
the equipment in a titration is correctly rinsed can drastically affect the accu-
racy of your final calculated concentration for the analyte.

In general, there are three rules to rinsing:

1. Pipettes and burettes must be rinsed with the solution that they will
contain or transfer. If it is rinsed with water instead, the solution
placed in either is diluted - this can change the titre volume and increase
the inaccuracy of the final, calculated concentration.

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2. The conical flask which the burette will deliver its solution to must be
rinsed wtih water. Adding water and diluting the solution does not
affect the accuracy of the titration as it will not change the number
of moles of acid/base the solution in the burette will have to neutralise -
thus the titre value remains unchanged.

3. Use separate pipettes for transferring different solutions.

A very type of common HSC Questions lists a titration procedure in which there
will be a step where equipment is incorrectly rinsed. It will ask you to identify
the step in which this happened and both identify and explain how this will
change your final, recorded value.

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Preparing Standards for Titrations

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In titrations, the analyte is analysed by comparison with a standard solu-
tion. In the context of titrations, there are two types of standards you should
know: primary and secondary standards. They are classified as primary or

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secondary by the method that is required to prepare them.

A primary standard is prepared when a known solid mass of a substance of

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high purity is dissolved to make a known volume of solution.
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A secondary standard is prepared using other standards. If the standard

needed to use other standards (regardless of whether its primary or secondary)
during its preparation, then it is automatically a secondary standard. Secondary
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standards are usually prepared by either diluting a standard solution or perform-

ing a titration with a solution to find its concentration - thus standardising it.
The process of preparing a secondary standard is called standardisation.
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Primary Standard Requirements

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As primary standards are produced directly by dissolving a solid mass in a

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volumetric flask, measures need to be taken to ensure this procedure can be

carried out as accurately as possible. The first and foremost measure is to ensure
you have a solid substance that is suitable for preparing a primary standard.
Such a solid should have the following features:

• High purity
• Unaffected by exposure to air
• Non-hygroscopic (does not absorb water from air)

• Have a large molecular mass to reduce percentage errors

• Have a high water solubility (so it can dissolve easily)
• Non-reactive

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Some common primary standards that have such features and are used to make
acid standard solutions include: solid benzoic acid, oxalic acid and potassium
hydrogen phthalate. Some common primary standards used to make base stan-
dard solutions include solid sodium carbonate and potassium hydroxide. Often-
times it is better to use hydrated solids as it increases the molecular mass of the
solid - thus reducing the effect of any small errors in measuring out the solid for
preparing a primary standard.

Although it would be easier to directly prepare strong acid primary standards

it is not always possible. For instance, NaOH is a commonly prepared stan-
dard but solid NaOH is hygroscopic (it absorbs water from the air). Even when
it is stored in an anhydrous environment or placed in a dessicator, when it is
exposed to air while preparing it, it can gain impurities due to the water it

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absorbs. This leads to inaccuracies when weighing out the solid NaOH - thus

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making it unsuitable as a primary standard choice. So if you want to prepare
NaOH to titrate with HCl as bromothymol blue may be the only indicator in
the lab, you need to prepare a secondary NaOH standard by titrating it with

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an acidic primary standard that you have to prepare with alternatives such as
oxalic or benzoic acid.
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Similarly, some other unsuitable primary standards include:
• HCl as it is volatile and releases fumes over time (lowering mass and
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concentration).
• H2 SO4 is hygroscopic (absorbing water from air, leading to an overesti-
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mation of moles in a given mass as it has water impurities).

• Na2 CO3 · 10 H2 O (sodium carbonate decahydrate) is deliquescent (want-
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ing to dissolve) so it spontaneously loses its hydrated water molecules to

the atmosphere.
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Primary Standard Preparation Procedure

1. Accurately weigh out a mass of solid close to the required mass in a beaker.
(a) Note: The mass you weigh out doesn’t exactly have to be the de-
sirable mass of the primary standard solid. Even if you are a bit
over, since you know the volume of solution that will be produced
in the volumetric flask, you can still calculate the concentration of
the primary standard. Instead of a 0.100M standard you may get a
0.104M standard but it is still fine as you know the standard’s exact
concentration and can thus titrate with this solution as required.
2. Record the actual mass weighed.
3. Add enough distilled water to the beaker dissolve the solid.

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4. Carefully transfer all of the weighed mass to a clean volumetric flask of

the appropriate size, using a wash bottle and funnel. All of the equipment
that came into contact with the weighed mass should be rinsed into the
flask with a wash bottle.
5. Add distilled water until the bottom of the meniscus is resting on the line
on the neck of the flask. Add the last few drops with a dropper.
6. Stopper the flask. Firmly holding the stopper in place, invert serveral
times to ensure the solution ishomogenous.
7. Label the flask with the exact concentration, solution, date, time and
name.

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Indicators

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The final question that needs to be asked before we can carry out a titration is:

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how do we know when to stop the burette?

The most common way of knowing when is by using an indicator. When

an acid-base reaction reaches the point of neutralisation, the indicator should
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visibly change colours. It is at this point that you should stop titrating and
turn off the stopcock on the burette.
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The point at which neutralisation occurs (i.e. H+ and OH – are equimolar in

solution) is called the equivalence point of a titration. The point when the
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indicator has a permanent colour change and when the burette’s flow is
stopped is called the end point of a titration.
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In this Chemistry course there are three indicators whose names, pH ranges
and colour changes you will need to memorise.
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Titration Type Indicator Name Colour Change pH Range

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SA-WB Methyl Red Red-Yellow 4.2 - 6.3

SA-SB Bromothymol Blue Yellow-Blue 6.0 - 7.6
WA-SB Phenolphthalein Colourless-Purple 8.2 - 10.0

Equivalence Point vs End Point

Equivalence point occurs when the analyte is completely neutralised by the
addition of the titrant (or vice versa). Comparatively, the end point occurs
when there is a permanent color change due to the indicator.

It is important to note that very few, if any, titrations are ’perfect’ (i.e. the
endpoint is at the equivalence point) but the aim is to get both points as close
as possible.

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Titration Procedure
1. Prepare burette, rinse with distilled water and with titrant (3×), and
clamp vertically.
2. Fill burette with titrant to 0.00mL mark using a funnel and ensure there
are no droplets of solution stuck to the sides of the burette. If there are,
lightly tap the burette to get the to fall.

3. Record the initial burette reading to 2dp.

4. Rinse pipette with the analyte solution (3×).
5. Fill pipette with an aliquot of the analyte, and transfer to a pre-rinsed

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and dried conical flask (rinsed with distilled water only).

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(a) Beware of parallax error when using a pipette (base of meniscus
should be on the mark), and put pipette tip in contact with wall
of conical flask to prevent the formation of bubbles.

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(b) Pipette is calibrated to have a drop remaining in the tip - do not try
to extract this drop.
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6. Add 2 drops of a suitable indicator. Place a sheet of white paper under the
conical flask to make colour changes easier to see by increasing contrast.
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7. Position burette tip over conical flask and transfer titrant until endpoint
is reached (when close to endpoint, add titrant drop by drop, stirring
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continuously).
• At end point, the colour change is permanent and should persist for
more than 10 seconds (since temporary colour change results from
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uneven stirring, where a localised portion of the solution has a high-

er/lower pH).
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8. Record final burette reading to 2dp, and calculate the titre volume.
9. Repeat for 3 concordant titres within 0.10mL of each other (the first rough
titre is often ignored).

Analysing Titration Curves

Titration curves are graphical tools for determining the equivalence point of
a titration. They’re made by plotting the pH (using a pH meter) of a solution
against the volume of solution added from the burette. The equivalence point
can typically be found at the inflection point of a titration curve.

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Strong Acid and Strong Base

14 • E.g. HCl(aq) + NaOH(aq) → NaCl(aq) + H2 O(`)

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• Equivalence point is at pH = 7 (neutral salt formed)
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• Higher starting pH due to strong base
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pH = 7
• Steep part of curve from pH 3–10 suits many indicators, although
pH

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bromothymol blue is the best choice (6.0–7.6)
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Titre (mL)

Strong Acid and Weak Base

14 • E.g. HCl(aq) + NH3(aq) → NH4 Cl(aq)

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• Equivalence point is at pH < 7 (acidic salt formed)

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• Lower starting pH due to weak base, assuming that the comparison is
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being made between strong and weak bases of similar concentrations
pH

pH < 7

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• Buffer resists addition of HCl initially (see inflection), as
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NH3(aq) + H2 O(`) NH+ –
4(aq) + OH(aq)
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• Steep part of curve from pH ≈ 4–8 suits bromothymol blue (6.0–7.6)
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Titre (mL) and bromocresol green (4.0–5.6)
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Weak Acid and Strong Base

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14 • E.g. CH3 COOH(aq) + NaOH(aq) → CH3 COONa(aq) + H2 O(`)

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• Equivalence point is at pH > 7 (basic salt formed)
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pH > 7 • Higher starting pH due to strong base
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• No buffer as NaOH is reacted with a weak acid
pH

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◦ If the base was the titrant, then a buffer would exist
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2 • Steep part of curve from pH ≈ 6–10 suits phenolphthalein (8.3–10.0)

Titre (mL)

Weak Acid and Weak Base

14 • E.g. CH3 COOH(aq) + NH3(aq) CH3 COONH4(aq)

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• No steep part of curve to estimate equivalence point, hence rarely used
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pH ≈ 7
pH

Titre (mL)

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ATSI Peoples’ use of Acids and Bases

This section of the syllabus is weird because it is about Aboriginal Australian
and Torres Strait Islanders’ acid-base analysis techniques. But they didn’t
actually use pH meters or carry out titrations. That technology became widely
available in the early 1900’s which was long after Invasion Day and British
Colonisation. The focus that most exam questions have is how do their practices
using acids-bases demonstrate their thorough understanding of them. It’s a bit
of an oddly-phrased dotpoint by NESA but this is how most exam questions I
have come across are formatted.

Using Bracken Fern to treat Stinging Nettle Wounds

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Problem: Stinging nettle has toxins containing oxalic, formic and tartaric acids
that irritates the wounds the nettle causes.

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Solution: ATSI people rolled up and bruised the alkaline bracken fern and

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then rubbed it, with pressure, on their stinging nettle wounds.

Explanation: The following neutralisation reaction between the fern’s alkaline

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base and the organic acids in the nettle takes place: base+acid −−→ salt+H2 O.
It neutralises the organic acid irritants, thus reducing the pain and inflammation
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it causes - remedying the irritation and stinging.

Using Geophagy to treat Indigestion Problems and Gastric

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Reflux
Problem: Indigestion and gastric reflux is caused by excess HCl in the stomach
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and causes discomfort and a burning regurgitation of food.

Solution: When suffering from gastric reflux, ATSI people would engage in
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geophagy, a practice where they would eat kaolinite-containing clays from riverbeds
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and ochre clays.

Explanation: Kaolinite contains basic aluminium silicate dihydrate and ochre

clays contained various basic iron oxides and hydroxides. When they would
consume these clays, neutralisation reactions like:
Fe2 O3(s) + 3 HCl(aq) −−→ 2 FeCl3(aq) + 3 H2 O(l)
would take place in the stomach. This effectively neutralises the excess HCl
in the stomach, mitigating the irritation that it causes. This remedies gastric
reflux and other indigestion problems like gastritis that are also caused by an
excess of HCl in the stomach.

End of Lesson Notes

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