Question

EDTA is used for the estimation of:

Answer 1

Hint: As we know that Ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA) is a polycarboxylic acid of amine whose formula is ${{[C{{H}_{2}}N{{(C{{H}_{2}}C{{O}_{2}}H)}_{2}}]}_{2}}$. It is a white solid which is soluble in water and is widely used to bind to iron, magnesium and calcium ions. So here we have to tell the use of EDTA in estimation.

Complete answer:
Let us first discuss about EDTA as follows:-
-EDTA: The full form of EDTA is ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid which is a polycarboxylic acid of amine and its chemical formula is${{[C{{H}_{2}}N{{(C{{H}_{2}}C{{O}_{2}}H)}_{2}}]}_{2}}$. It is a white colour solid that is highly soluble in water and is widely used to bind to metals like iron, magnesium and calcium ions. It binds these ions in the form of hexadentate chelating agent.
-It has four carboxyl groups along with two amine groups which can act as electron pair donors (or Lewis bases). EDTA has the ability to potentially donate its six lone pairs of electrons so as to form coordinate covalent bonds with metal cations.
-In the conditions where the pH of the solution is greater than 9, it forms stable complexes with the alkaline earth metal ions like $C{{a}^{2+}}$ and $M{{g}^{2+}}$. This acidic reagent is generally used to measure the total quantity of dissolved $C{{a}^{2+}}$ and $M{{g}^{2+}}$ions in a sample of water. The hardness of a water sample is estimated by titrating it with a standard solution of EDTA.
-Therefore we can say that EDTA is used for the estimation of $C{{a}^{2+}}$ and $M{{g}^{2+}}$ ions in water.

Note:
-Remember that EDTA is also used in medicines so as to prevent blood samples from clotting and to remove excess calcium and lead content from the body.
-Another use of this chelating agent is to keep bacteria from forming a biofilm.