The Facts

• The titrant or reagent of a known concentration and volume is used to react with a solution of titrand or analyte. The concentration of the analyte is unknown, according to Absolute Astronomy. Because the titrant is added using a burette (thus giving a precise measurement), it is, therefore, possible to determine the exact amount consumed after the reaction is complete.
  
  

Features

• The reagent is added in carefully measured amounts until a reaction of definite and known proportion is complete, according to the website for the Department of Chemistry at Florida State University. The point where the titration is complete is noted by an indicator (either a color change or electrical measurement). Using this information, you can then determine the concentration of the unknown solution.
  
  

Procedure

• Most titration labs begin with a beaker or a flask containing a precise volume of the reactant and a small amount of indicator, located beneath a burette containing the reagent. The individual performing the lab can control the amount of reagent added to the reactant and, therefore, can detect the point at which the indicator changes color. As a result, it is important that the right indicator is chosen for the right laboratory procedure. In other words, given the right indicator, the color change will occur at the point where the reactant and the reagent neutralize each other.
  
  

Function

• After the indicator shows the endpoint of the reaction, the volume of the reagent can then be measured by reading the scale on the burette. Because the reagent is of known concentration, the number of moles of the reagent can be calculated. Therefore, using a mathematical equation, the number of moles present in the reactant can be found. By dividing the number of moles of reactant by its volume, the concentration can then be calculated.
  
  

Uses

• In addition to their usefulness in high schools and colleges as chemistry teaching aids, titration labs and procedures are also useful in industry. For example, titration methods are used in bio-diesels to determine the acidity of samples of waste vegetable oil (WVO) by an addition of known bases to the samples. Titration is also used in petrochemical and food industries, to define fats, oils and other similar substances.