In: Chemistry
Lab Experiment 9 Acid‐Base I – Titration
1. Define and explain titration.
2. In the experimental procedure, the buret is prepared by pre‐rinsing with NaOH and discarding the rinse. Explain the purpose of pre‐rinsing the buret with NaOH solution and identify what errors might be introduced if prerinsing is not performed before a titration.
A titration is a technique where a solution of known concentration is used to determine the concentration of an unknown solution. Typically, the titrant (the know solution) is added from a buret to a known quantity of the analyte (the unknown solution) until the reaction is complete. Knowing the volume of titrant added allows the determination of the concentration of the unknown. Often, an indicator is used to usually signal the end of the reaction, the endpoint.
Puttiing aside the fact that you should never put NaOH is a
glass burette because it attacks the glass...
It is done to remove any contaminants. The correct procedure is to
wash with water first in case the previous content of the burette
reacts with the NaOH to produce a precipitate. You then rinse with
NaOH to ensue that any water left does not affect the
concentration.
Any water of other contaminant precsent will change the
concentration of the NaOH in the burette leading to inaccurate
results.