CIE Chemistry A-Level
Practicals for Papers 3 and 5
Titrations
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Example Method for an acid-base titration
Method Accuracy Explanation
1. Pour approximately ● Use a clean, dry beaker.
100cm3 of the standard
solution of known
concentration into a
beaker.
2. Fill the burette with the ● Rinse the burette before If the jet space is not filled it will
standard solution of using a small volume of the lead to errors if it then fills
known concentration. solution. during the titration, leading to a
● Make sure the jet space in larger than expected titre
the burette is filled and reading.
doesn’t contain air bubbles.
3. Pour approximately ● Use a clean, dry beaker.
100cm3 of the solution
with unknown
concentration into a
second beaker.
4. Using a pipette filler and ● Rinse the 25cm3 pipette with A conical flask is used in
pipette to transfer exactly the solution of unknown preference to a beaker because
25cm3 of solution into a concentration. it is easier to swirl the mixture in
250cm3 conical flask. ● The conical flask should a conical flask without spilling
been rinsed with deionised the contents.
water.
5. Add two to three drops of Only a few drops of indicator is
phenolphthalein indicator required. If too much is added it
to the solution in the will affect the titration result.
conical flask and note the
initial colour of the
indicator.
6. Record the initial burette ● Make sure that all your
reading. burette readings are to the
appropriate precision and
are read from the bottom of
the meniscus.
7. Titrate the contents of the ● Add the solution slowly, Distilled water can be used
conical flask by adding swirling the flask gently to during a titration to wash the
solution to it from the mix the solution. sides of the flask so that all
burette until the indicator reactants are washed into the
undergoes a definite, ● Add the solution dropwise mixture. This water does not
permanent colour near the end-point. affect the titration as it doesn’t
change. Record the final change the number of moles of
burette reading in your ● Use a white tile underneath each reactant.
table of results. Calculate the flask to help observe the
the titre volume (change colour change.
in volume in the burette).
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8. Repeat, calculate and ● You should normally carry
record the volume of out at least three titrations.
solution used in the
titration in a table (titre
volume). Repeat until two
concordant results are
obtained. Record all of
the results that you
obtain.
Conical flask/burette:
● If solution A is titrated against solution B, it means that solution A is in the conical flask and
solution B is in the burette.
● The alkali usually in conical flask.
Titration Tables (Results):
● lf 2 or 3 values are within 0.10cm3 and are therefore concordant, then the results are
accurate and reproducible and the titration technique is good or consistent.
● Results should be clearly recorded in a table.
● Rows on the table should be: initial burette reading, final burette reading and titre, all in cm3.
● Columns on the table should be the different trials labelled numerically.
● Tick the two concordant titres.
● Record titre volumes to 2dp (0.05 cm3).
● Only make an average titre volume using the concordant titre results.
Safety precautions:
● Acids and alkalis are corrosive (at low concentrations acids are irritants).
● Wear eye protection and gloves.
● If spilled immediately wash affected parts after spillage.
● If a substance is unknown, treat it as potentially toxic and wear gloves.
Titrating mixtures:
● If titrating a mixture to work out the concentration of an active ingredient, it is necessary to
consider if the mixture contains other substances that have acid-base properties and could
affect the reaction.
● If they don’t have acid-base properties we can titrate with confidence.
Testing batches:
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● In quality control it will be necessary to do titrations or testing on several samples as the
concentration and amount of the chemical being tested may vary between samples.
Uncertainties:
● Uncertainty of a measurement using a burette.
● If the burette used in the titration had an uncertainty for each reading of +/– 0.05 cm3 then
during a titration, two readings are taken making the overall uncertainty on the titre volume
+/– 0.10 cm3 .
● Often, another 0.05 cm3 is added on because of uncertainty identifying the end point colour
change.
Reducing uncertainties in a titration:
● Replacing measuring cylinders with pipettes or burettes which have lower apparatus
uncertainty will lower the overall error.
● To reduce the uncertainty in a burette reading the titre volume needs to be made larger.
This could be done by: increasing the volume and concentration of the substance in the
conical flask or by decreasing the concentration of the substance in the burette.
● Leaving NaOH in the burette will cause damage to the apparatus which could lead to
errors.
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