How do you perform acid-base titration in a lab?

Perform an acid-base titration in the lab by setting up a burette, dissolving the material for analysis in water in a flask, adding an indicator, recording an initial reading of the burette, adding titrant until the color changes and taking the final reading. The experiment usually takes less than an hour.

1. Set up the burette

   Condition the burette by rinsing it with the liquid you plan to use to fill it. Place it in a burette clamp attached to a ring-stand. Fill the burette with the solution. Eliminate any bubbles in the tip of the burette, and refill it, if necessary.

2. Dissolve the material

   Place the material for analysis in the bottom of a laboratory flask. If it is a solid, add water and dissolve the material. Add the indicator for the endpoint of the titration. Place the flask under the tip of the burette.

3. Take an initial reading

   Read the burette level using the bottom of the meniscus, which is the depression at the top surface of the liquid.

4. Add titrant to the flask

   Open the burette and allow the liquid to flow into the flask. Stop the burette at about 2 milliliters before the endpoint of the titration. Add more liquid, drop by drop, until the indicator turns a light pink and holds the color for more than a few seconds. Take the final reading on the burette.