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  Home > JCE Print > Journal of Chemical Education > Issues > 1999  > July  >
In the Classroom
Predicting Acid-Base Titration Curves without Calculations
Dennis W. Barnum
Department of Chemistry, Portland State University, P.O. Box 751, Portland, OR 97207-0751
Cover
July 1999
Vol. 76 No. 7
p. 938
Abstract
A common approach to teaching acid-base chemistry is to have students calculate titration curves. Students often concentrate on setting up the equations or the spreadsheet and either lose sight of or fail to recognize the general principles that the calculations are intended to convey. In this paper a qualitative and systematic method for sketching titration curves is presented. Even the more complex cases such as salts or polyprotic acids and bases are treated just as easily as simple monoprotic acids. Having students predict the shape of titration curves from known equilibrium constants helps to focus attention on the general principles without distraction by the mathematics. Because the method is very fast, students can work through more examples.

See Letter re: this article.
More Information
*  Citation
 Barnum, Dennis W. J. Chem. Educ. 1999 76 938.
*  Keywords
 AcidÐBase Chemistry; Quantitative Analysis; Teaching / Learning Aids; Water / Water Chemistry; Equilibrium; Teaching/Learning Theory/Practice; titration curves; titration of salts as acids or bases
*  History
 Created:
Last Updated:		 June 9, 1999
June 23, 2005
Link to Letter added (April 2004).
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