titration question?????

Question

acetic acid reacts with sodium hydroxide:
HC2H3O2 (aq) + NaOH (aq) --------> H2O (l) + NaC2H3O2 (aq)

If 2.50 mL of vinegar needs 34.9 ml of 0.0960 M NaOH to reach the equivalence point in titration, how many grams of acetic acid are in a 1.00-qt sample of this vinegar?

(what is titration used for exactly?? I have no idea... please help! I have a test in this stuff this week!)

Answer 1

the key formula is m1V1 = m2V2

where m is molarity and V = volume in mL.

You have the molarity and volume of the NaOH and the mL of the vinegar. So you can solve for the molarity of the vinegar (acetic acid).

Now you have to convert the 1.00 qt. to liters

Once you have the liters and the molarity from above, you can calculate the moles of acetic acid. The molecular weight of acetic acid is 60 g / mol, so your last step is to calculate the grams of acetic acid.

As a guidance, vinegar is 4-5% acetic acid and if I recall, the molarity will be about 0.75