How to Titrate a Base with an Acid

A typical titration of a base with an acid proceeds in the following steps. The first step is to wash a burette, a pipette and two conical flasks with detergent solution, afterwards, rinse them thoroughly. Second, the apparatuses are set up in such a way that, the burette is clamped vertically to a retort stand and a funnel is inserted into the upper end of the burette, while the other end, which is fitted with an open rubber tube, is closed with a stopper. Third, the burette is filled with an acid solution such as Tetra-oxo-sulphate (VI) acid, to the 0cm3 mark, and then the funnel is removed. After that, 25cm3 of an alkali solution (base) is pipetted into each conical flask; at this time, 2 drops of methyl orange is added to both flasks. Next, one of the conical flasks is placed directly beneath the burette and on a white tile in order to observe a colour change. The initial volume of the acid in the burette is recorded. Now, the stopper at the end of the burette is slightly opened so that the acid drains gradually into the conical flask, and then the conical flask is swirled gently to make the mixture homogenous. The stopper is then closed immediately a colour change is observed--this colour change signifies the end-point of the reaction. Lastly, the volume of the acid solution remaining in the burette is recorded, and then the titration is repeated with at least another four trials. To sum up, in order to get an accurate and precise value of the volume of solutions used during the experiment, these steps need to be taken into consideration.

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