e. 60.00 mL of acid added: We have added 10.00 mL of excess acid, which
is a total of 0.00125 mol.The total solution volume is 85.00 mL (25.00 mL
of base + 60.00 mL of added acid) = 0.08500 L. We can calculate the
pH from this information.
[H
+
] =
(0.001250 mol)
(0.08500 L)
= 0.01471 M
pH = 1.83
The titration curve shown in Figure 18.9 has a shape similar to what we
expected. It is fairly flat until close to the equivalence point, where it
drops quite sharply and over a large pH range, so it is easily detectable.
PRACTICE 18.8
Calculate and draw a graph of the relationship between the pH and the volume of
NaOH solution for the titration of 25.00 mL of 0.2500 M HCl with the following
total volumes of 0.2500 M NaOH:
a. 0 mL d. 25.00 mL
b. 10.00 mL e. 30.00 mL
c. 20.00 mL f. 40.00 mL
See Problems 33, 34, and 37.
Acid–Base Titrations in Which One Component
Is Weak and One Is Strong
Although the general problem-solving strategy is the same when we titrate a weak
acid with a strong base (or a weak base with a strong acid) as when we perform a
strong-acid–strong-base titration, there is a critical difference, the K
a
(or K
b
) of
the analyte, that affects both the pH and the pH change at the equivalence point.
Our ability to do a titration analysis depends on having a large, sharp break in
the equivalence point. We can best see this by comparing the data from our
HCl–NaOH titration with those from the titration of 50.00 mL of a 0.1000 M
acetic acid solution (CH
3
COOH, K
a
= 1.8
×
10
−5
) with a 0.2000 M
sodium hydroxide solution. The amounts and concentrations are the
same. Only the acid has been changed from strong to weak.
Part 1: Initial pH
We can determine pH in this weak acid as we would in any other weak
acid, using principles we learned in Chapter 17.
CH
3
COOH(aq)
CH
3
COO
−
(aq) + H
+
(aq) K
a
= 1.8
×
10
−5
K
a
=
[H
+
][CH
3
COO
−
]
[CH
3
COOH]
1.8
×
10
−5
=
x
2
(0.1000)
x = [CH
3
COO
−
] = [H
+
] = 1.3
×
10
−3
M
pH = 2.87
We already see a difference in the titration curve (Figure 18.10a) because
this weak acid pH is nearly 2 units higher than the initial pH of the strong
acid, HCl, of the same concentration.
792 Chapter 18 Applications of Aqueous Equilibria
1
3
5
7
9
11
13
15
0 102030405060708090
Volume of HCl (mL)
pH
FIGURE 18.9
The titration curve for the addition of 0.125 M
HCl to 25.00 mL of 0.250 M NaOH.
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
NaOH added (mL)
pH
Strong acid, strong base
Weak acid, strong base
FIGURE 18.10a
Each plot follows the pH changes as we
add 0.2000 M NaOH solution to 50.00 mL
of 0.1000 M acetic acid solution. The pH
values at each volume are superimposed on
those from Figure 18.9 to show the differ-
ence in the nature of the titration curve be-
tween the strong acid and the weak acid.
Tutorial: Titration Curves: Weak
Base with Strong Acid
Video Lesson: Weak-
Acid–Strong-Base Titration
Video Lesson: Weak-
Base–Strong-Acid Titration