Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Is using a titration curve considered quantitative or qualitative? what about doing back titration, is it quantitative or qualitative?

Titration is the amount of substance. Remembering the
"quant"itative is "quantity" and equals "how much", we use titrations to measure the
amount of substance present in a specimen. In my field, we titrate antibodies. The best
way to explain this is to image you have 5 test tubes. In the first test tube, you place
0.5 ml of pure substance (let's say salt). In the next 4 tubes, you place a given amount
of water (0.5 ml). In tube 2, you would place 0.5ml of salt solution into tube 2 and mix
- then carry 0.5 of tube 2 substance to tube 3 - then mix and carry to tube 4, then mix
and carry to tube 5, then mix and THROW AWAY the 0.5 ml. You have diluted the substance
by cutting it in half each time. This carries on until you reach the last positive tube.
Eventually (and it might take several tubes) you will achieve a zero substance because
you have diluted out the salt.


If you reverse the process,
it is considered qualitative. You are starting with a given solution that is going to be
positive. In tube 1, remember tha you had salt - you know there is salt so it is
positive, but do you know how much? Technically, you do, because you put it there, but
if you were making the experiment for someone else, it would only be
"positive".


So reverse is qualititative and curve is
quantitative.

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