Question

How can titration be used to determine concentration?

Answer 1

Hint: A concentration is the amount of solute present in a specific amount of solvent or solution. A titration technique is used to determine the concentration of an unknown solution using the standard solution of known concentration. It is a volumetric analysis technique.

Complete step by step answer:
- Titration is the process of finding out the concentration of a substance in a solution by reacting it with another solution of known concentration. Out of the two solutions used in the titration process one must be the standard solution and the other solution must be of unknown concentration.
- A standard solution is a solution of definite concentration, the strength of which is known to us. It is also known as the titrant. While the strength of unknown concentration is not known. It is known as analyte.
- In the titration, process titrant is added from the burette to a known quantity of the analyte in a conical flask until the reaction is complete. In a titration, it is very important to add a few drops of the indicator in the analyte before titration. We can identify the completion of the reaction by observing the colour change. The indicator indicates the endpoint by a change of colour of the solution.
- By measuring the volume of titrant added at endpoint we can determine the concentration of an unknown solution as follows:
$${\text{M}}_{\text{1}}{\text{V}}_{\text{1 }}\text{ = }{\text{M}}_{\text{2}}{\text{V}}_{\text{2}}$$

Where,
$${\text{M}}_{\text{1}}$$ = Concentration of titrant
$${\text{V}}_{\text{1}}$$= volume of titrant
$${\text{M}}_2$$ = Concentration of analyte
$${\text{V}}_2$$= volume of analyte
By substituting the concentration of titrant, volume of titrant and volume of analyte in the above equation we can calculate the concentration of the analyte.

Note: In titration analysis is based on the measurement of volumes of the solution of interacting substances that are required for complete reaction. The endpoint of the reaction is indicated by some marked change such as appearance or disappearance of colour. In this process to get an accurate result it is very important to control the addition of titrant from a burette to the analyte.