Titration Master
The burette, the pipette and the one drop that changes the colour. Getting concordant results, then turning them into a concentration.
Revise this, the fun way
Play it interactively, earn XP and build a streak, free.
Start revising freeWhat you'll cover
What is it actually for? ⚗️
You already know that an acid and an alkali neutralise each other. A titration uses that reaction as a **measuring tool**. You take a solution whose concentration you know exactly, add it carefully to one whose concentration you do not, and stop at the instant they have exactly neutralised. The volume you needed is the measurement, and everything else in this module is either getting that volume right or turning it into an answer.
The apparatus 🧪
Each piece is chosen for one job, and swapping them loses accuracy:
Order the method 🪜
An interactive activity.
Concordant results 🎯
One titre is not a result. You repeat until you have **concordant** ones: titres within **0.10 cm3** of each other. The **rough titre is thrown away** on purpose. It was run fast to find roughly where the endpoint is, so it almost always overshoots. **The mean is taken over the concordant titres only.** Averaging in the rough one drags the answer upwards, and it is the single most common way to lose marks on this question.
Find the mean titre 🧮
An interactive activity.
Why discard it? ❓
Why is the rough titre left out of the mean?
- It was run in quickly to locate the endpoint, so it usually overshoots
- The first result of any experiment is always ignored
- The burette has not settled until it has been used once
- The indicator has not dissolved properly during the first run
Which one do you know? ⚖️
Before any arithmetic, be clear which solution is which. Getting this the wrong way round is why correct working can still produce a wrong answer.
Moles of the known 🔢
An interactive activity.
Concentration of the unknown 📊
An interactive activity.
At the bench 🧭
An interactive activity.
Good technique ✅
Select the TWO statements that describe correct titration technique.
- The burette is rinsed with the solution it will contain
- The conical flask is rinsed with distilled water only
- The conical flask is rinsed with the alkali to avoid dilution
- Universal indicator is used so the pH can be read exactly at the endpoint
The calculation chain 📝
Start from the solution whose concentration you were _____. Work out its moles using moles = concentration x volume in _____. Use the _____ from the balanced equation to get the moles of the other solution. Then divide those moles by its volume to get its _____. Only the _____ titres go into the mean volume you use.
Your turn ✍️
An interactive activity.