Gebran Andrawos Al-Twaini Public High School

Chemistry Department Summary sheet Grade 12.GS/LS

Chapter 5: strong acid-strong base; pH-metric titration.

- Conjugate acid/base pair: acid/ its conjugate base
- Aqueous solution: A solution that contains water.
• Auto ionization of water:
2 H2O  H3O+ + OH-
Ion product constant of water: Kw = [H3O+][OH-]
Kw = 10-14 at T = 25oC ; pKw = -log Kw ; Kw = 10-pkw ; At T=25oC pKw = 14
As temperature increases, Kw increases => the auto ionization of water is endothermic.

Acid-base pairs involved: H2O/OH- ; H3O+/ H2O

Water is said to be amphoteric (Amphoteric means a substance that can act as acid or base).

• pH measures the acidity of the medium; pH = -log [H3O+] = pKw + log [OH-]
At T = 25oC ; pH = 14 + log [OH-]
[H3O+] = 10-pH ; [OH-] = 10pH-pKw

• Nature of medium:
Neutral => [H3O+] = [OH-] => [H3O+] = √𝐾𝑤 ; pH = ½ pKw
Acidic => [H3O+] > [OH-] => [H3O+] > √𝐾𝑤 ; pH <½ pKw
As pH decreases, the acidity of the solution increases
Basic => [H3O+] < [OH-] => [H3O+] < √𝐾𝑤 ; pH >½ pKw
As pH increases, the basicity of the solution increases

- Acid: a substance that gives H3O+ when dissolves in water

• Strong acid: acid that dissociates completely in water to give H3O+
[H3O+] = x = Ca ; Degree of conversion α (HA) = 1

Dissociation equation HA + H2O → H3O+ + A-

Initial Ca 0 0
Final 0 Ca Ca

Acid-base pairs involved: HA/A- ; H3O+/ H2O

If a strong acid is diluted by 10n times, then pH will increase by n

• How to identify if an acid is strong or weak?

Strong acid => [H3O+] = Ca where [H3O+] = 10-pH

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Or pH = - log [H3O+] = -log Ca

Weak acid => [H3O+] < Ca where [H3O+] = 10-pH

Or pH = - log [H3O+] > -log Ca

If two acids have the same concentration, the stronger acid is the one that has lower pH.

- Base: a substance that gives OH- or receives H+ when dissolves in water

• Strong base: base that dissociates completely in water to give OH- or receives H+

Dissociation equation H2O

BOH → B+ + OH-
B + H2O → BH + OH-
+

Initial Cb 0 0
Final 0 Cb Cb

Acid-base pairs involved: B+/BOH or BH+/B ; H2O/ OH-

[OH-] = x = Cb ; Degree of conversion α (BOH) = 1

If a strong base is diluted by 10n times, then pH will decrease by n

• How to identify if a base is strong or weak?

Strong base => [OH-] = Cb where [OH-] = 10pH-pkw
Or pH = pKw + log [OH-] = pKw + log Cb

Weak base => [OH-] < Cb where [OH-] = 10pH-pkw

Or pH = pKw + log [OH-] < pKw + log Cb

If two bases have the same concentration, the base that has higher pH is the stronger base.

- Reaction of strong acid (H3O+) with strong base (OH-)

H3O+ + OH- → 2 H2O
This reaction is called neutralization reaction

KR = 1 .= 1 .
+ -
[H3O ][OH ] Kw

At T=25oC KR = 1014 >>> 104 => the reaction is quantitative and complete.

- Strong acid – strong base pH-metric titration

• Materials:
Graduated buret-stand-clamp-beaker-magnetic stirrer-magnetic bar-pH meter

• pH-metric titration setup

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 • Procedure:

- Calibrate pH-meter.
- Rinse the buret with distilled water and with the titrant.
- Fill the buret till 0.0 ml mark line.
- Rinse the volumetric pipet with distilled water and with the analyte.
- Place x ml of the analyte in the beaker using volumetric pipet (x ml) and pipet filler.
- Add 1 ml of the titrant and shake.
- Repeat this addition until the pH starts changes rapidly.
- Add drop by drop of the titrant and shake until the pH starts changes slowly.
• Why sometimes distilled water is added into the beaker before titration
starts? In order to immerse the pH-electrode.

• Case 1: Analyte : strong acid Titrant : strong base

Net ionic titration reaction: H3O+ + OH- → H2O
D
Describing the curve:
C
The curve consists of three parts:
AB (Vb = 0 ml to 20 ml): pH increases slightly;
horizontal asymptote.
I
BC (Vb = 20 ml to 30 ml): pH increases sharply (jump).
There is inflection point I(VbEq; pH eq).
CD (Vb = 30 ml to 50 ml): pH increases slightly; B
horizontal asymptote. A
Special points:
 From A to I : acid is in excess
 At I: acid is totally neutralized by the base according
 to stoichiometric ratio. This point is called equivalence point.

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 From I to D: base is in excess.
 Initially Vb = 0 ml : pH = - log [H3O+] = - log Ca; (if no water was added)
[H3O+] = Ca (strong acid)

 Equivalence point I: pH = ½ pKw = 7 (T = 25o C) => neutral

The equivalence point is determined by parallel tangent method.
Species that are presented at equivalence: H2O and spectator ions like Na+ and Cl-
The spectator ions have no effect pH
The medium is neutral due to the auto ionization of water Always pH is determined
which produces H3O+ and OH- where [H3O+] = [OH-] = 10-7 by the species that are
=> pH = - log [H3O+] presented in the solution

 Adding excess strong base => pH = 14 + log [OH-] ;

 the asymptote tend to pH = 14 + log Cb

Calculation:
At the equivalence point, according to stoichiometric ratio:
n (H3O+) (initial in the beaker Va = ml) = n (OH-) (added from buret at equivalence, V b
eq = ml)
 Ca Va = Cb VbEq

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 • Case 2: Analyte : strong base Titrant : strong acid
Net ionic titration reaction: H3O+ + OH- → H2O
Describing the curve:
The curve consists of three parts:
AB (Va = 0 ml to x ml): pH decreases slightly; horizontal asymptote.
BC (Va = x ml to y ml): pH decreases sharply (jump). There is inflection point I (VaEq; pH
eq).
A
CD (Va = y ml to z ml): pH decreases slightly; horizontal asymptote. B
Special points:

I
 From A to I : base is in excess
 At I: base is totally neutralized by the base according
to stoichiometric ratio. This point is called equivalence point.
 From I to D: acid is in excess.
 Initially Va = 0 ml : pH = 14 + log [OH-] = 14 + log Cb; C
D
[OH-] = Cb (strong base)

 Equivalence point I: pH = ½ pKw = 7 (T = 25o C)

=> neutral
The equivalence point is determined
by parallel tangent method.

Species that are presented at equivalence: H2O and spectator ions like Na+ and Cl-
The spectator ions have no effect pH
The medium is neutral due to the auto ionization of water which produces H 3O+ and OH-
where [H3O+] = [OH-] = 10-7 => pH = - log [H3O+]

 Adding excess strong acid => pH = -log [H3O+] ; the asymptote tend to pH = -log Ca

Calculation:
At the equivalence point, according to stoichiometric ratio:
n (OH-) (initial in the beaker Vb = ml) = n (H3O+) (added from buret at equivalence, Va
eq = ml)
 Cb Vb = Ca VaEq

• Effect of adding distilled water - in order to immerse the pH-electrode – on

the equivalence point I ( V eq; pH eq)

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 Adding distilled water doesn’t not affect Veq, since the number of moles of the
analyte initially presented in the beaker is not affected.
 pH at equivalence will not be affected, since the species that are presented at
equivalence are H2O and spectator ions => adding water will keep the solution at
equivalence neutral.
 No effect for adding water on the equivalence point of strong acid with strong base.
Reactions and their calculations:
1- Auto-ionization of water.
2H2O H3O+ + HO- Kw = [H3O+ ] [HO- ]

2- Strong acid-strong base reaction:

H3O+ + HO- → 2H2O Kr = 1/Kw

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