Introduction

      The purpose of this lab is to use conductometry to obtain the concentration of a Ba(OH)2 solution. This will be done by determining the equivalence point with a conductometric method. Titrations determine the concentration of a reactant in a chemical reaction. This titration uses conductometric method which uses the fact that solutions conduct electricity when ions are present. A solution generally has a higher conductivity when a it has a higher ion concentration. A strong electrolyte will conduct electricity when ions are present. When another strong electrolyte is added, it reacts with the ions and produces a precipitate or nonconducting molecule, such as water or gas, which levels the solution. That causes the ion concentration and conductivity to decrease.

       The equivalence point is reached when the two electrolytes, Ba(OH)2 and H2SO4 are combined in a stoichiometric ratio. That is when all of the ions are removed and the conductivity is at its minimum. The conductivity will increase if more of the second electrolyte is added after the solution reaches the equivalence point. No chemical reaction occurs after the equivalence point is reached but ions are added from the second electrolyte being added. In this lab, Ba(OH)2 solution will be titrated with H2SO4 solution. The reaction is: . When the equivalence both is reached the ions Ba2+, OH-, H3O+, and (SO4)2- will not be present. Once the equivalence point is determined, then the concentration of the Ba(OH)2 solution can be found.