Equilibria Flashcards
A Brønsted acid can
donate a proton
A Brønsted base can
accept a proton
In an equilibrium reaction, the products are formed at the same rate as the
reactants are used
At equilibrium, both reactants and products are
present in the solution
Conjugate acid-base pairs are
a pair of reactants and products that are linked to each other by the transfer of a proton
The pH indicates
the acidity or basicity of an acid or alkali
pH =
-log10 [H+]
[H+] =
10^-pH
Ka is the
acidic dissociation constant
the equilibrium constant for the dissociation of a weak acid at 298 K
Ka=
[H+][A-]/[HA]
a more simplified version is:
[H+]^2/[HA]
because the ratio of H+ ions and A- ions are 1:1, therefore their concentration is the same
The value of Ka indicates
the extent of dissociation
The assumptions made when writing the equilibrium expression for weak acids
-The concentration of hydrogen ions due to the ionisation of water is negligible
-The dissociation of the weak acid is so small that the concentration of HA is approximately the same as the concentration of A-
A high value of Ka means that
-The equilibrium position lies to the right
-The acid is almost completely ionised
-The acid is strongly acidic
A low value of Ka means that
-The equilibrium position lies to the left
-The acid is only slightly ionised (there are mainly HA and only a few H+ and A- ions)
-The acid is weakly acidic
pKa values are used
to compare the strengths of weak acids with each other since Ka values of many weak acids are very low
pKa =
-log10 Ka
The less positive the pKa value
the more acidic the acid
Calculating the Ka & pKa of weak acids
Step 1: Write down the equation for the partial dissociation of weak acid
Step 2: Write down the equilibrium expression to find Ka
Step 3: Substitute the values into the expression to find Ka
Step 4: Determine the units of Ka
Step 6: Find pKa
Kw is the
ionic product of water
It is the equilibrium constant for the dissociation of water at 298 K
Its value is 1.00 x 10-14 mol2 dm-6
Kw=
[H+][OH-]/[H2O]
[H+][OH-]
[H+]^2