Chemical equations give us a balanced representation of a chemical reaction, showing the reactants on the left, the products on the right, and the stoichiometry of each component involved. In acid-base reactions, these equations help us visualize and calculate the proportion of each substance required or produced.
The balanced equations in our titration example are simple and straightforward, each having a 1:1 molar ratio between the acid and the base (NaOH):
- \( \text{HNO}_3 + \text{NaOH} \rightarrow \text{NaNO}_3 + \text{H}_2\text{O} \)
- \( \text{CH}_3\text{COOH} + \text{NaOH} \rightarrow \text{CH}_3\text{COONa} + \text{H}_2\text{O} \)
- \( \text{HCl} + \text{NaOH} \rightarrow \text{NaCl} + \text{H}_2\text{O} \)
This balanced form is crucial because it allows the direct use of moles calculated from given molarity to find out how much of the other reactant is needed or produced. When a solution is titrated, we reach the equivalence point exactly when the solution has been neutralized, aided by our understanding of these chemical equations.
Remembering that these reactions are balanced helps in performing accurate calculations by directly equating moles of acids to moles of bases, leading to precise results in titration procedures.