You are probably familiar with the setup of an acid-base titration. (if not, this link from OpenStax will help you).
In the acid base titrations we will consider in CHEM 152, the titrant will either be a strong acid or a strong base. The analyte (the solution in the flask) can be a weak acid, a weak base, a strong acid, or a strong base.
Titrations are described by saying that the analyte is titrated with the titrant. Therefore, in a titration of a strong acid with a strong base, the acid would be in the flask and the base would be in the burette.
In any titration, since an acid is reacting with a base (and at least one of them, if not both, is strong), an acid-base neutralization will occur:
acid + base —> salt + water
This reaction may be simplified as a net ionic equation, but it will still be a neutralization.
In the previous topic, Common Ion Effect and Buffers, we employed a three step process to calculate a pH after an acid or base is added to a buffer. A very similar process can be used to describe a pH at any point in an acid-base titration. We will examine this process and calculations, as well as titration curves, which are graphs of pH in the flask as a function of volume of titrant added. This will enable a more complete understanding of a procedure familiar to you from the lab.
