In the previous post, we learned how to determine whether the solution of a salt is going to be acidic or basic depending on how it was prepared. In short, there is only one step to do this and that … Read more
First, recall that a salt is an ionic compound formed by the reaction between an acid and a base where the acid provides the anion, and the base brings the cation to the salt. HCl(aq) + NaOH(aq) → NaCl(aq) … Read more
Polyprotic acids have more than one dissociable proton, and they dissociate in a stepwise manner. Each dissociation step is characterized by its own acid-dissociation constant, Ka1, Ka2, and so forth. For example, the carbonic acid is a weak, polyprotic acid … Read more
In the previous post, we talked about determining the pH of a weak acid. Remember, the main challenge here is that weak acids do not dissociate by 100%, and therefore, the [H+] is not the same as [HA]. To determine … Read more
Determining the pH of a weak acid is more complex compared to what we saw for strong acids, because for a weak acid, the dissociation is not 100%, and therefore, the [H+] is not the same as [HA]. For example: … Read more
There is a formula linking the values of pH and pOH which allows determining the pH or pOH based on one another. It is derived from the expression of water ionization, Kw = [H+][OH–]. To get the pH and pOH … Read more
In the previous post, we talked about pH and its measure for acidity. Remember, pH is defined as the negative logarithm of proton/hydronium ion concentration: So, how do we know the concentration of proton or hydronium ion from … Read more
Because the concentrations of H+ and OH– ions in aqueous solutions are usually very small, to specify the acidity of a solution with more convenient numbers, a quantity called pH is used. The pH is defined as the negative … Read more
We have seen several examples demonstrating that water is an amphoteric compound as it can act both as an acid and as a base. For example, it reacts with HCl as a base, and with NH3 as an acid: … Read more
In the previous post, we discussed the Arrhenius, Brønsted–Lowry, and Lewis definitions of acids and bases. One more concept in the Brønsted definition of acids and bases is the conjugate acid-base pair. When the acid loses its proton, it … Read more
