Water Testiing

Since it is not possible to carry delicate glassware out into the field for field tests, several companies/agencies/NGOs/Government laboratories have done a lot of work to bring out kits which use the titration principles but are light, can stand up to rough 'travel' and still give fairly accurate results. 
These are field test kits which can be used anywhere and by anyone who can read the instructions. Titration involves using a chemical solution of a known strength in a burette to be added to a sample of water to be tested in a beaker/conical flask. A chemical indicator solution is also added to the water before titration. The solution from the burette is added to the sample in carefully controlled drops with the sample being continuously stirred. This addition is stopped when the colour of the sample changes. The burette reading taken after colour change is multiplied by a specific numerical factor.

This gives the quantity of the parameter tested for in the water in terms of mg/litre or parts per million (pm). All titration tests are colorimetric tests where a change in colour is an indication that the presence/absence of the parameter being tested had been ascertained.