Investigatory Project
Detecting the Presence and Calculating the Conce
Chemistry
Aditi Gupta | 12-C | The Amaatra Academy
Acknowledgement
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Ms.Chetna, my Chemistry teacher, for
their valuable guidance and encouragement throughout this project. Their insightful
suggestions and support have been instrumental in completing this work successfully.
I am also deeply thankful to our esteemed Principal, Ms. Gauri, for providing a
conducive learning environment and the necessary resources to undertake this project.
Their motivation and leadership have always been a source of inspiration.
Lastly, I extend my appreciation to my family and friends for their constant support and
encouragement. This project has been a great learning experience, and I am grateful to
everyone who contributed to its successful completion.
Aditi Gupta
Class 12-C
The Amaatra Academy
Certificate
This is to certify that Aditi Gupta, a student of Class 12-C, The
Amaatra Academy, has successfully completed the English project
titled “Detecting the Presence and Calculating the Concentration of
Chloride Ions in a Water Sample " as part of the academic
requirements for the session 2025-26.
This project has been carried out under the guidance of Ms. Chetna
and has been found to be original, well-researched, and in accordance
with the prescribed curriculum.
Index
1. Introduction
2. Aim
3. Theory
4. Materials Required
5. Procedure
6. Observation & Result
7. Calculation
8. Conclusion
Introduction
Chloride in the form of chloride (Cl-) ion is one of the major inorganic
anions in water and wastewater. The chloride concentration is higher
in wastewater than in raw water because sodium chloride is a
common article of diet and passes unchanged through the digestive
system (Average estimate of excretion: 6 g of chlorides/person/day;
additional chloride burden due to human consumption on wastewater:
15 mg/L).
Along the sea coast chloride may be present in high concentration
because of leakage of salt water into the sewage system. It also may
be increased by industrial process. In potable water, the salty taste
produced by chloride concentration is variable and depends on the
chemical composition of water. Some waters containing 250 mg/L Cl-
may have a detectable salty taste if sodium cation is present. On the
other hand, the typical salty taste may be absent in waters containing
as much as 1000 mg/L when the predominant cations are calcium and
magnesium. In addition, a high chloride contents may harm metallic
pipes and structures as well as growing plants. The measured chloride
ions can be used to know salinity of different water sources.
For brackish water (or sea water or industrial brine solution), it is an
important parameter and indicates the extent of desalting of
apparatus required. It also interferes with COD determination and
thus it requires a correction to be made on the basis of amount
present or else a complexing agent, such as HgSO4 can be added.
Further, chloride ions are used as tracer ions in column studies to
model fate of different contaminants in soil and liquid media.
Aim
To detect the presence and determine the concentration (in
mg/L) of chloride ions in a given water sample using
titration with standard silver nitrate solution.
Theory
Chloride ions in a water sample can be quantitatively analyzed
through Mohr’s Method, which is a precipitation titration. In this
method:
- Silver nitrate (AgNO₃) reacts with chloride ions (Cl⁻) to form a white
precipitate of silver chloride (AgCl):
Ag⁺ + Cl⁻ → AgCl (s)
- Potassium chromate (K₂CrO₄) is used as an indicator. Once all the
chloride ions are precipitated, excess silver ions react with chromate
to form a brick-red precipitate of silver chromate (Ag₂CrO₄), signaling
the endpoint:
2Ag⁺ + CrO₄²⁻ → Ag₂CrO₄ (s)
This color change is used to determine when all chloride has reacted,
allowing calculation of its concentration.
Materials Required
- Burette
- Conical flask
- Pipette
- Measuring cylinder
- Potassium chromate indicator solution
- Standard silver nitrate (AgNO₃) titrant
- Different water samples (e.g., tap water, RO water, pool water)
Procedure
1. Sample Preparation: Pipette 25 mL of the water sample into a clean
conical flask.
2. Indicator Addition: Add 4–5 drops of potassium chromate indicator.
The solution will appear yellow.
3. Titration: Fill the burette with standard silver nitrate solution.
Titrate the sample until a brick-red precipitate appears and persists.
4. Record Readings: Note the volume of AgNO₃ used.
5. Repeat: Perform titration for all samples and record observations.
Observation / Result
Indicator Behavior:
- On addition of potassium chromate: Solution turns yellow
- On titrating with silver nitrate: Turns brick red at endpoint
S.N Sample (25ml) ml of Silver Nitrate Chloride content in
o (N=0.03) mg/lit
1. Pool water 5 212.7
2. Tap water 2.5 106.35
3. Drinking 0.5 20.67
water-1
4. Drinking 0.3 12.40
water-2
Calculations
Chloride (mg/L) = (A × N × 35.45 × 1000) / V
Where:
- A = Volume of AgNO₃ used (mL)
- N = Normality of AgNO₃
- 35.45 = Molar mass of chloride ion (g/mol)
- V = Volume of water sample in mL (25 mL)
Conclusion
The presence of chloride ions was confirmed in the tested water
samples through precipitation with silver nitrate, indicated by the
appearance of a brick-red silver chromate precipitate. The chloride
concentration was successfully determined using titration, and the
levels varied among different sources. This method provides a simple
and reliable way to assess chloride levels in environmental water
samples.
The pool water has the highest concentration of chloride ions with
approximately 200 mg/lit primarily to kill bacteria as a disinfectant.
Followed by pool water is unpurified Tap water with half the chloride
ion concentration as that of pool water. Drinking water samples have
chloride ion concentration ranging from 12 to20 mg/l since they have
been purified by RO systems.
Precautions
1. Ensure a consistent sample volume (25 mL) for accuracy.
2. Use a fixed amount of potassium chromate indicator to maintain the
correct endpoint detection.
3. Perform the titration under good lighting conditions to detect
subtle color changes.
4. Rinse all apparatus thoroughly to avoid contamination.
5. Use freshly prepared silver nitrate solution for accurate results.
Sources of Error
- Inaccurate volume readings due to parallax error.
- Faint endpoint color change may lead to over-titration or under-
titration.
- Presence of other halides or interfering ions not removed before
titration.
- Improper mixing of the indicator may result in uneven color
development.
Bibliography
1. Vogel’s Textbook of Quantitative Chemical Analysis
2. Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater
(APHA)
3. NCERT Chemistry Lab Manual – Class 12
4. https://chem.libretexts.org/
