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Skills Worksheet

Problem Solving
Titrations
Chemists have many methods for determining the quantity of a substance present
in a solution or other mixture. One common method is titration, in which a solu-
tion of known concentration reacts with a sample containing the substance of
unknown quantity. There are two main requirements for making titration possi-
ble. Both substances must react quickly and completely with each other, and
there must be a way of knowing when the substances have reacted in precise
stoichiometric quantities.
The most common titrations are acid-base titrations. These reactions are eas-
ily monitored by keeping track of pH changes with a pH meter or by choosing an
indicator that changes color when the acid and base have reacted in stoichiomet-
ric quantities. This point is referred to as the equivalence point. Look at the fol-
lowing equation for the neutralization of KOH with HCl.

KOH(aq)  HCl(aq) → KCl(aq)  H2O(l)

Suppose you have a solution that contains 1.000 mol of KOH. All of the KOH
will have reacted when 1.000 mol of HCl has been added. This is the equivalence
point of this reaction.
Titration calculations rely on the relationship between volume, concentration,
and amount.

volume of solution  molarity of solution  amount of solute in moles

If a titration were carried out between KOH and HCl, according the reaction
above, the amount in moles of KOH and HCl would be equal at the equivalence
point. The following relationship applies to this system:

molarityKOH  volumeKOH  amount of KOH in moles

amount of KOH in moles  amount of HCl in moles

amount of HCl in moles  molarityHCl  volumeHCl

Therefore:

molarityKOH  volumeKOH  molarityHCl  volumeHCl

The following plan for solving titration problems may be applied to any acid-
base titration, regardless of whether the equivalence point occurs at equivalent
volumes.

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General Plan for Solving Titration Problems

1a 2a 1b 2b
Molarity Volume Molarity Volume
of known  of known of known  of known
acid acid base base

The product of The product of

molarity and molarity and
volume in liters volume in liters
is the amount is the amount
in moles. in moles.

Convert using
3a the mole ratio 3b
Amount of acid to base. Amount
of acid of base
in moles in moles

4a 4b
Volume of Divide the amount Volume of
acid used in in moles by base used in
titration the volume in liters titration
to compute molarity.

5a 5b
Molarity Molarity
of unknown of unknown
acid base

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Sample Problem 1
A titration of a 25.00 mL sample of a hydrochloric acid solution of
unknown molarity reaches the equivalence point when 38.28 mL of
0.4370 M NaOH solution has been added. What is the molarity of the HCl
solution?
HCl(aq)  NaOH(aq) 3 NaCl(aq)  H2O(l)

Solution
ANALYZE
What is given in the problem? the volume of the HCl solution titrated, and the
molarity and volume of NaOH solution used in
the titration figures.
What are you asked to find? the molarity of the HCl solution

Items Data
Volume of acid solution 25.00 mL
Molarity of acid solution ?M
Mole ratio of base to acid in titration reaction 1 mol base:
1 mol acid
Volume of base solution 38.28 mL
Molarity of base solution 0.4370 M

PLAN
What steps are needed to calculate the molarity of the HCl solution?
Use the volume and molarity of the NaOH to calculate the number of moles of
NaOH that reacted. Use the mole ratio between base and acid to determine the
moles of HCl that reacted. Use the volume of the acid to calculate molarity.

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Volume of NaOH
in mL

multiply by the
conversion factor
1L
Volume of
1000 mL
HCl
in mL

multiply by the
1b 2b
conversion factor Molarity of NaOH  Volume of NaOH
1L in L
1000 mL the product of
molarity and volume
is the amount of NaOH
in moles
4a
Volume of HCl
in L 3a 3b
Amount of HCl Amount of NaOH
multiply by the
in mol mole ratio in mol
mol HCl
mol NaOH
divide amount
of HCl by
volume to yield
molarity
5a
Molarity of HCl
given 1L
mL NaOH   L NaOH
1000 mL
given 1L
mL HCl   L HCl
1000 mL
given in balanced calculated
calculated given chemical equation above
above mol NaOH mol HCl 1
L NaOH     M HCl
L NaOH 1 mol NaOH L HCl

COMPUTE
1L
38.28 
mL NaOH    0.03828 L NaOH

1000 mL
1L
25.00 
mL HCl    0.02500 L HCl

1000 mL
0.4370 mol NaOH 1 mol HCl
0.03828 L NaOH  
L NaOH 1 mol NaOH
1
  0.6691 M HCl
0.02500 L HCl

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EVALUATE
Are the units correct?
Yes; molarity, or mol/L, was required.
Is the number of significant figures correct?
Yes; the number of significant figures is correct because all data were given to
four significant figures.
Is the answer reasonable?
Yes; a larger volume of base was required than the volume of acid used.
Therefore, the HCl must be more concentrated than the NaOH.

Practice
In each of the following problems, the acids and bases react in a mole ratio of
1mol base : 1 mol acid.
1. A student titrates a 20.00 mL sample of a solution of HBr with unknown
molarity. The titration requires 20.05 mL of a 0.1819 M solution of NaOH.
What is the molarity of the HBr solution? ans: 0.1824 M HBr

2. Vinegar can be assayed to determine its acetic acid content. Determine the
molarity of acetic acid in a 15.00 mL sample of vinegar that requires 22.70 mL
of a 0.550 M solution of NaOH to reach the equivalence point. ans: 0.832 M

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Sample Problem 2
A 50.00 mL sample of a sodium hydroxide solution is titrated with a
1.605 M solution of sulfuric acid. The titration requires 24.09 mL of the
acid solution to reach the equivalence point. What is the molarity of the
base solution?
H2SO4(aq)  2NaOH(aq) 3 Na2SO4(aq)  2H2O(l)

Solution
ANALYZE
What is given in the problem? the balanced chemical equation for the acid-
base reaction, the volume of the base solution,
and the molarity and volume of the acid used in
the titration
What are you asked to find? the molarity of the sodium hydroxide solution

Items Data
Volume of acid solution 24.09 mL
Molarity of acid solution 1.605 M
Mole ratio of base to acid in titration reaction 2 mol base:
1 mol acid
Volume of base solution 50.00 mL
Molarity of base solution ?M

PLAN
What steps are needed to calculate the molarity of the NaOH solution?
Use the volume and molarity of the acid to calculate the number of moles of acid
that reacted. Use the mole ratio between base and acid to determine the moles
of base that reacted. Use the volume of the base to calculate molarity.

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Volume of H2SO4 in mL
multiply by the
conversion factor
1L
1000 mL

1a 2a Volume
Molarity of H2SO4  Volume of H2SO4 of NaOH
in L in mL
the product of multiply by the
molarity and volume conversion factor
is the amount of H2SO4 1L
in moles
1000 mL

3a 3b 4b
Amount of H2SO4 Amount of NaOH Volume
multiply by the
in mol mole ratio in mol of NaOH
mol NaOH in L
mol H2SO4 divide the amount
of NaOH by volume
to yield molarity

5b
Molarity of NaOH
given 1L
mL NaOH   L NaOH
1000 mL
given 1L
mL H2SO4   L H2SO4
1000 mL
given in balanced calculated
calculated given chemical equation above
above mol H2SO4 2 mol NaOH 1
L H2SO4     M NaOH
L H2SO4 1 mol H2SO4 L NaOH

COMPUTE
1L
50.00 
mL NaOH    0.05000 L NaOH

1000 mL
1L
24.09 
mL H2SO4    0.02409 L H2SO4

1000 mL
1.605 mol H2SO4 2 mol NaOH
0.02409 L H2SO4  
L H2SO4 1 mol H2SO4
1
  1.547 M NaOH
0.05000 L NaOH

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EVALUATE
Are the units correct?
Yes; molarity, or mol/L, was required.
Is the number of significant figures correct?
Yes; the number of significant figures is correct because all data were given to
four significant figures.
Is the answer reasonable?
Yes; the volume of acid required was approximately half the volume of base
used. Because of the 1:2 mole ratio, the acid must be about the same as the
concentration of the base, which agrees with the result obtained.

Practice
1. A 20.00 mL sample of a solution of Sr(OH)2 is titrated to the equivalence point
with 43.03 mL of 0.1159 M HCl. What is the molarity of the Sr(OH)2 solution?
ans: 0.1247 M Sr(OH)2

2. A 35.00 mL sample of ammonia solution is titrated to the equivalence point

with 54.95 mL of a 0.400 M sulfuric acid solution. What is the molarity of the
ammonia solution? ans: 1.26 M NH3

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Sample Problem 3
A supply of NaOH is known to contain the contaminants NaCl and MgCl2.
A 4.955 g sample of this material is dissolved and diluted to 500.00 mL
with water. A 20.00 mL sample of this solution is titrated with 22.26 mL
of a 0.1989 M solution of HCl. What percentage of the original sample is
NaOH? Assume that none of the contaminants react with HCl.

Solution
ANALYZE
What is given in the problem? the mass of the original solute sample, the
volume of the solution of the sample, the
volume of the sample taken for titration, the
molarity of the acid solution, and the volume
of the acid solution used in the titration
What are you asked to find? the percentage by mass of NaOH in the original
sample

Items Data
Volume of acid solution 22.26 mL
Molarity of acid solution 0.1989 M
Mole ratio of base to acid in titration reaction ?
Volume of base solution titrated 20.00 mL
Moles of base in solution titrated ? mol NaOH
Volume of original sample solution 500.00 mL
Moles of base in original sample ? mol NaOH
Mass of original sample 4.955 g impure NaOH
Mass of base in original sample ? g NaOH
Percentage of NaOH in original sample ?% NaOH

PLAN
What steps are needed to calculate the concentration of NaOH in the sample?
Determine the balanced chemical equation for the titration reaction. Use the
volume and molarity of the HCl to calculate the moles of HCl that reacted. Use
the mole ratio between base and acid to determine the amount of NaOH that
reacted. Divide by the volume titrated to obtain the concentration of NaOH.

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What steps are needed to calculate the percentage of NaOH in the sample?
Convert the concentration of NaOH to the amount of NaOH in the original
sample by multiplying the concentration by the total volume. Convert amount of
NaOH to mass NaOH by using the molar mass of NaOH. Use the mass of NaOH
and the mass of the sample to calculate the percentage of NaOH.

You must first determine the equation for titration reaction.

HCl(aq)  NaOH(aq) → NaCl(aq)  H2O(l)

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Volume of HCl in mL
multiply by the
conversion factor
1L
1000 mL

Volume of NaOH
1a 2a in mL
Molarity of HCl  Volume of HCl in L
multiply by the
the product of conversion factor
molarity and volume 1L
is the amount of HCl
in moles 1000 mL

3a 3b 4b
Amount of HCl multiply by the
Amount of Volume of
in mol mole ratio NaOH NaOH used in
mol NaOH in mol titration in L
mol HCl
divide amount
of NaOH by
volume to yield
molarity

5b
Volume of  Molarity of NaOH
original solution
in L

Amount of NaOH in
the original solution
in mol
multiply by the
molar mass of
NaOH

Mass of NaOH in
the original solution
in g
divide by the total
mass of the solute
and multiply by 100

Percentage of NaOH
in original solution

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given 1L
mL NaOHtitrated   L NaOHtitrated
1000 mL
given 1L
mL HCl   L HCl
1000 mL
given in balanced
calculated given chemical equation
above mol HCl 1 mol NaOH 1
L HCl     M NaOH
L HCl 1 mol HCl L NaOHtitrated
given 1L
mL NaOHoriginal   L NaOHoriginal
1000 mL
calculated molar mass
above calculated of NaOH
mol NaOH above 40.00 g NaOH
 L NaOHoriginal   g NaOHoriginal
L NaOH mol NaOH
calculated
above
g NaOHoriginal
 100  percentage of NaOH in solute
g solute
given

COMPUTE
1L
 NaOHtitrated    0.02000 L NaOHtitrated
20.00 mL

1000 mL
1L
 HCl    0.02226 L HCl
22.26 mL

1000 mL
0.1989 mol HCl 1 mol NaOH
0.02226 L HCl  
L HCl 1 mol HCl
1
  0.2214 M NaOH
0.02000 L NaOH
1L
 NaOHoriginal    0.500 00 L NaOHoriginal
500.00 mL
1000 
mL
0.2214 mol NaOH 40.00 g NaOH
 0.500 00 L NaOH   4.428 g NaOH
L NaOH mol NaOH
4.428 g NaOH
  100  89.35% NaOH
4.955 g solute

EVALUATE
Are the units correct?
Yes; units canceled to give percentage of NaOH in sample.

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Is the number of significant figures correct?

Yes; the number of significant figures is correct because all data were given to
four significant figures.
Is the answer reasonable?
Yes; the calculation can be approximated as (0.02  0.2  25  40  100)/5 
400/5  80, which is close to the calculated result.

Practice
In the problems below, assume that impurities are not acidic or basic and that
they do not react in an acid-base titration.
1. A supply of glacial acetic acid has absorbed water from the air. It must be
assayed to determine the actual percentage of acetic acid. 2.000 g of the acid
is diluted to 100.00 mL, and 20.00 mL is titrated with a solution of sodium
hydroxide. The base solution has a concentration of 0.218 M, and 28.25 mL is
used in the titration. Calculate the percentage of acetic acid in the original
sample. Write the titration equation to get the mole ratio.
ans: 92.5% acetic acid

2. A shipment of crude sodium carbonate must be assayed for its Na2CO3 con-
tent. You receive a small jar containing a sample from the shipment and weigh
out 9.709 g into a flask, where it is dissolved in water and diluted to 1.0000 L
with distilled water. A 10.00 mL sample is taken from the flask and titrated to
the equivalence point with 16.90 mL of a 0.1022 M HCl solution. Determine
the percentage of Na2CO3 in the sample. Write the titration equation to get the
mole ratio. ans: 94.28% Na2CO3

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Additional Problems—Titrations
1. A 50.00 mL sample of a potassium hydroxide is titrated with a 0.8186 M HCl
solution. The titration requires 27.87 mL of the HCl solution to reach the
equivalence point. What is the molarity of the KOH solution?
2. A 15.00 mL sample of acetic acid is titrated with 34.13 mL of 0.9940 M NaOH.
Determine the molarity of the acetic acid.
3. A 12.00 mL sample of an ammonia solution is titrated with 1.499 M HNO3
solution. A total of 19.48 mL of acid is required to reach the equivalence point.
What is the molarity of the ammonia solution?
4. A certain acid and base react in a 1:1 ratio.
a. If the acid and base solutions are of equal concentration, what volume of
acid will titrate a 20.00 mL sample of the base?
b. If the acid is twice as concentrated as the base, what volume of acid will be
required to titrate 20.00 mL of the base?
c. How much acid will be required if the base is four times as concentrated as
the acid, and 20.00 mL of base is used?
5. A 10.00 mL sample of a solution of hydrofluoric acid, HF, is diluted to
500.00 mL. A 20.00 mL sample of the diluted solution requires 13.51 mL of a
0.1500 M NaOH solution to be titrated to the equivalence point. What is the
molarity of the original HF solution?
6. A solution of oxalic acid, a diprotic acid, is used to titrate a 16.22 mL sample
of a 0.5030 M KOH solution. If the titration requires 18.41 mL of the oxalic
acid solution, what is its molarity?
7. A H2SO4 solution of unknown molarity is titrated with a 1.209 M NaOH solu-
tion. The titration requires 42.27 mL of the NaOH solution to reach the equiva-
lent point with 25.00 mL of the H2SO4 solution. What is the molarity of the
acid solution?
8. Potassium hydrogen phthalate, KHC8H4O4, is a solid acidic substance that
reacts in a 1:1 mole ratio with bases that have one hydroxide ion. Suppose
that 0.7025 g of KHC8H4O4 is titrated to the equivalence point by 20.18 mL of a
KOH solution. What is the molarity of the KOH solution?
9. A solution of citric acid, a triprotic acid, is titrated with a sodium hydroxide
solution. A 20.00 mL sample of the citric acid solution requires 17.03 mL of a
2.025 M solution of NaOH to reach the equivalence point. What is the molarity
of the acid solution?
10. A flask contains 41.04 mL of a solution of potassium hydroxide. The solution
is titrated and reaches an equivalence point when 21.65 mL of a 0.6515 M
solution of HNO3 is added. Calculate the molarity of the base solution.
11. A bottle is labeled 2.00 M H2SO4. You decide to titrate a 20.00 mL sample with
a 1.85 M NaOH solution. What volume of NaOH solution would you expect to
use if the label is correct?

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12. What volume of a 0.5200 M solution of H2SO4 would be needed to titrate

100.00 mL of a 0.1225 M solution of Sr(OH)2?
13. A sample of a crude grade of KOH is sent to the lab to be tested for KOH
content. A 4.005 g sample is dissolved and diluted to 200.00 mL with water. A
25.00 mL sample of the solution is titrated with a 0.4388 M HCl solution and
requires 19.93 mL to reach the equivalence point. How many moles of KOH
were in the 4.005 g sample? What mass of KOH is this? What is the percent
KOH in the crude material?
14. What mass of magnesium hydroxide would be required for the magnesium
hydroxide to react to the equivalence point with 558 mL of 3.18 M hydrochlo-
ric acid?
15. An ammonia solution of unknown concentration is titrated with a solution of
hydrochloric acid. The HCl solution is 1.25 M, and 5.19 mL are required to
titrate 12.61 mL of the ammonia solution. What is the molarity of the ammonia
solution?
16. What volume of 2.811 M oxalic acid solution is needed to react to the equiva-
lence point with a 5.090 g sample of material that is 92.10% NaOH? Oxalic acid
is a diprotic acid.
17. Standard solutions of accurately known concentration are available in most
laboratories. These solutions are used to titrate other solutions to determine
their concentrations. Once the concentration of the other solutions are accu-
rately known, they may be used to titrate solutions of unknowns.
The molarity of a solution of HCl is determined by titrating the solution
with an accurately known solution of Ba(OH)2, which has a molar concentra-
tion of 0.1529 M. A volume of 43.09 mL of the Ba(OH)2 solution titrates 26.06
mL of the acid solution. The acid solution is in turn used to titrate 15.00 mL of
a solution of rubidium hydroxide. The titration requires 27.05 mL of the acid.
a. What is the molarity of the HCl solution?
b. What is the molarity of the RbOH solution?
18. A truck containing 2800 kg of a 6.0 M hydrochloric acid has been in an acci-
dent and is in danger of spilling its load. What mass of Ca(OH)2 should be
sent to the scene in order to neutralize all of the acid in case the tank bursts?
The density of the 6.0 M HCl solution is 1.10 g/mL.
19. A 1.00 mL sample of a fairly concentrated nitric acid solution is diluted to
200.00 mL. A 10.00 mL sample of the diluted solution requires 23.94 mL of a
0.0177 M solution of Ba(OH)2 to be titrated to the equivalence point.
Determine the molarity of the original nitric acid solution.
20. What volume of 4.494 M H2SO4 solution would be required to react to the
equivalence point with 7.2280 g of LiOH(s)?

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d. [OH]  6.67  1014 M, 4. a. 20.00 mL base


[H3O ]  0.150 M b. 10.00 mL acid
e. [OH]  0.0400 M, c. 80.00 mL acid
[H3O]  2.50  1013 M 5. 5.066 M HF
f. [OH]  2.56  1014 M, 6. 0.2216 M oxalic acid
[H3O]  0.390 M 7. 1.022 M H2SO4
g. 10, 2.3, 12.11, 0.824, 12.602, 0.409 8. 0.1705 M KOH
2. [OH]  0.160 M 9. 0.5748 M citric acid
[H3O]  6.25  1014 M 10. 0.3437 M KOH
3. 0.08 M 11. 43.2 mL NaOH
4. 2.903; 4.137 12. 23.56 mL H2SO4
5. 10.0; 10.7 13. 0.06996 mol KOH; 3.926 g KOH;
6. a. [H3O]  0.020 M, 98.02% KOH
[OH]  5.0  1013 M 14. 51.7 g Mg(OH)2
b. 1.7 15. 0.514 M NH3
7. a. 2.804 16. 20.85 mL oxalic acid
b. 2.755 17. a. 0.5056 M HCl
8. 2.9  1011 M b. 0.9118 M RbOH
9. 10.54 18. 570 kg Ca(OH)2
10. [H3O]  1  104 M 19. 16.9 M HNO3
[OH]  1  1010 M 20. 33.58 mL
11. 10.96
12. 0.2 g EQUILIBRIUM OF ACIDS AND
13. [H3O]  1.0  103 M BASES, Ka AND Kb
[OH]  1.0  104 M 1. pH  2.857
14. a. 0.40% Ka  1.92  105
b. 1.3% 2. pH  1.717
c. 4.0% Ka  2.04  103
15. 1.402 3. a. [H3O]  3.70  1011 M
16. a. 4.50 pH  10.431
b. 2.40 Kb  1.82  107
c. 3.83 b. [B]  4.66  103 M
d. 5.63 Kb  1.53  104
17. [H3O]  1  109 M pH  10.93
[OH]  1  105 M c. [OH]  1.9  103 M
18. 11.70 [H3O]  5.3  1012 M
19. [H3O]  0.020 M [B]  0.0331 M
[HCl]  0.020 M Kb  1.1  104
20. 3.2  104 M d. [B]initial  7.20  103 M
21.pH  0.000 Kb  1.35  104
10. kL pH  10.96
1.0  102 L 4. 6.4  105
10. kL 5. Kb  3.1  105
22. 0.052 mol NaOH [H2NCH2CH2OH]  6.06  103 M
2.1 g NaOH 6. 1.3  104
23. 7.1  10–3 7. [OH]  1.58  105 M
24. [H3O]  7.1  10–4 M pH  9.20
[OH]  1.4  1011 M 8. Ka  2.2  103
[HB]initial  0.0276 M
TITRATIONS 9. 4.63  103
1. 0.4563 M KOH 10. 2.62  104
2. 2.262 M CH3COOH 11. [H3O]  0.0124 M
3. 2.433 M NH3 pH  1.907

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Holt Chemistry 331 Answer Key