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CHM-2046- College Chemistry II

Dr. Sindia M. Rivera-Jimnez

Report- Laboratory #4:
The Determination of Acid-Base Equilibrium Constants, Ka & Kb

Instructions: Questions must be submitted in CANVAS the night before the laboratory. You must use
this provided template to answer your questions and upload your answers in a .doc or .pdf file.

Part I: K
a
and % of ionization of acetic acid
1. (16pts) Calculate [H
+
], K
a
, and pK
a
, and the percent of ionization for two solutions of acetic acid based
on pH measurement. Show your final result and work in the table to get full credit.

Table 1. Ka and % ionization of acetic acid
[CH3COOH]0 pH [H
+
] Ka pKa % ionization




0.5 M




pH=_2,40




[H
+
]=_ 3.98x10^-3

=10^-pH
Ka= 3.19x10^-5

X= (H3O+)
Ka= x^2/(0.5-x)
pKa=_4.50

pKa= -log(Ka)
% ionization
=_0.80

100[H+]/ 0.5


0.05 M







pH=_2.80 [H
+
]=_ 1.58x10^-3 Ka=_5.16x10^-5 pKa=_4.29 % ionization
=_3.16

2. (1pt) What is the trend in % ionization as the initial concentration of acetic acid decreases?

% Ionization increases as the initial concentration CH3COOH decreases




3. (2pts) Do you think this trend would be the same for any weak acid? Explain.
Yes, more dilute solutions of weak acids have lower H3O+ conc.
- Also, if the amount of H3O+ present will be a bigger percentage of the original, more dilute acid
- when diluting weak acids, there will be less concentration of HA in the water and less
Student Name:__Vlad Shukruta
Section__Tue Lab
Date Submitted:___02/17/2014_
Total Points: __________/95
2
- concentration of H+ and A in the water, thus the equilibrium will shift to products because one
acid molecule can produce two ions, increasing overall concentration more




4. (2pts) Based on the literature Ka for acetic acid, estimate the pH and the percent of ionization of
a 0.0050 M solution. Hint: Use the Ka tables from your book.
a. CH3COOH initial= 0.0050 M

CH3COOH + H2O= CH3COO- + H3O+
ka= 1.74x-5
ka= x^2/(0.0050- x)
x^2+ ka(x) ka(0.0050) = 0
x1= 2.86x-4
x2= -3.04x-4
pH= 3.54

b. pH= 3.54
c. [H3O+] = 10^(-pH)= 2.86x-4 M
d. % ionization 0.0050M CH3COOH= 100(2.86x-4)/(0.0050) = 5.72




Part II: pH of salt solutions


5. (8pts) Write down the dissociation equation for all of the following salt in aqueous solution and the
Ka or Kb expressions

Salt
Dissociation equation
Note* (=) is equilibrium
Ka or Kb expressions
sodium acetate
CH3COO- + H2O = CH3COOH + OH- Kb= [CH3COOH][OH-]/[CH3COO-]
ammonium acetate
NH4+ + H2O = NH3 + H3O+
CH3COO- + H2O = CH3COOH + OH-
NH4+ dissociation predominant when 0.1M
ammonium acetate used
Ka= [NH3][H3O+]/[NH4+]
ammonium chloride
NH4+ + H2O = NH3 + H2O Ka= [NH3][H3O+]/[NH4+]

3

sodium bicarbonate
HCO3- + H2O = H2CO3 + OH-
In turn,
HCO3- + H2O = H2O + CO2 + OH-
Kb = [H2CO3][OH-]/[HCO3-]
Sodium carbonate
CO3
-2
+ H2O = HCO3- + OH- Kb= [HCO3-][OH-]/[CO3
-2-
]
Sodium phosphate
PO4
-3
+ H2O = HPO4
-2
+ OH- Kb= [HPO4
-2]
[OH-]/[ PO4
-3
]
Sodium hydrogen
phosphate
HPO4
-2
+ H2O = H2PO4- + OH- Kb = [H2PO4-][OH-]/[ HPO4
-2
]
Sodium dihydrogen
phosphate
H2PO4- + H2O = H3PO4 + OH- Kb= [H3PO4][ OH-]/[ H2PO4-]


6. (43 pts) Complete this table based on your measured pH in the lab for each solution. Show your work
for the Ka calculations on the next page to get full credit.

Table 2. pH of salt solutions
0.10 M Salt
Solution
pH Acidic or
Basic salt?
Acidic Ion Basic Ion Neutral
Ion
[H
+
] [OH
-
] Calculated Ka or
Kb
sodium
acetate

7.56
Basic None CH
3
COO- Na
+
2.75x10^-8 3.64x10^-7 Kb=1.32x-12
ammonium
acetate
6.43 Neutral NH4+ CH3OO- None 3.72x10^-7 2.69x10^-8 Undetermined
ammonium
chloride
5.67 Acidic NH4+ Cl- 2.13x10^-6 4.69x10^-9 Ka= 4.54x10^-11
sodium
bicarbonate
9.20 Basic HCO3- Na+ 6.31x10^-
10
1.58x10^-5 Kb= 2.50x10^-9
Sodium
carbonate
11.58 Basic CO3
-2
Na+ 2.63x10^-
12
3.80x10^-3 Kb= 1.50x10^-4
Sodium
phosphate
12.67 Basic PO4
-3
Na+ 2.14x10^-
13
4.67x10^-2 Kb= 0.0409
Sodium
hydrogen
phosphate
9.24 Acidic HPO4
-2
Na+ 5.75x10^-
10
1.74x-5 Kb= 3.03x-9
Sodium
dihydrogen
phosphate
4.44 Acidic H2PO4
-
Na+ 3.63x10^-5 2.75x10^-
10
Ka= 1.32x10^-8

7. (6 pts) Rank ALL the ions (not the slats) from above salts in order of acidity from the most acidic
ions to most basic. Dont forget Na
+
and Cl
-
.

4
Most acidic Ion Neutral Less acidic Ion
H2PO4
-2
NH4+ CH3COO- Na+ Cl- HCO3- HPO4
-2
CO3
-2
PO4
-3



(8pts) Show your work for the Ka calculations for Table 2.
sodium acetate
note: Ka= [x
2
]/[HA initial X] where x=[H3O+]
Kb=[x
2
]/[HA initial X] where x= [OH-]
pKa + pKb= 14.0
kw= ka (kb)
ka= kw/ kb


Kb= [CH3COOH][OH-]/[CH3COO-] = 1.32x-12
Ka= 7.58x-3





ammonium acetate
Ka = [NH3][H3O+]/[NH4+] = (3.72x-7)
2
/(0.1 - 3.72x-7) = 1.38x-12

ammonium chloride
Ka= [NH3][H3O+]/[NH4+] = 4.54x-11
sodium bicarbonate
Kb = [H2CO3][OH-]/[HCO3-]= 2.50x10^-9
Ka= 4.00x-6
Sodium carbonate
Kb= [HCO3-][OH-]/[CO3
-2-
]= 1.50x10^-4
Ka= 6.67x-11
Sodium phosphate
Kb= [HPO4
-2]
[OH-]/[ PO4
-3
]= 0.0409
pKb= 1.39; pKa= 12.61; Ka= 2.45x-13

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Sodium hydrogen phosphate
Kb = [H2PO4-][OH-]/[ HPO4
-2
]= 3.03x-9
pKb=8.52; pKa= 5.48; Ka= 3.31x-6
Sodium dihydrogen phosphate

Kb= [H3PO4][ OH-]/[ H2PO4-]= 1.32x10^-8
pKb= 7.88; pKa= 6.12; Ka= 7.59x-7




Part III: Follow-up questions

1. (5pt) A 0.20 M solution of sodium nitrile, NaNO
2
, has a pH of 8.57.
a. Write the chemical equation showing why this salt has the given pH. (Hint: you should write
K
a
or K
b
chemical equation, how do you know which one?)
pH=8.57, basic solution

(basic solution)
NO2- + H2O = HNO2 + OH-

Kb= [HNO2][OH-]/[NO2-]
pH= 8.57;
[H3O+] = 2.69x-9
[OH-] = 3.72x-6

Kb= (3.72x-6)
2
/(0.20 3.72x-6)= 6.92x-11



b. Calculate K
a
for the anion and K
a
for the corresponding conjugated acid given the measured
pH.
i. Kb(NO2-)= 6.92x-11
ii. pKb= 10.16; pKa= 3,84
iii. Ka(NO2-)= 1.45x-4


2. (6pts) f one of the hydrogens bonded to the carbon atom in acetic acid is replaced by a chlorine atom,
monochloroacetic acid is formed, CH
2
ClOOH.
a. Draw the Lewis structure for monochloroacetic acid.



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b. The pK
a
of monochloroacetic acid is 2.865 at 25
o
C. Compare this pK
a
to that of acetic acid
and sugegest a explanation for the large differences in pK
a
values. Hint: see you textbook
under the topic of strength of acids and molecular structure.
- pKa CH2ClOOH= 2.865
- pKa CH3COOH 0.5M = 4.50
- the larger the pKa, the smaller the dissociation of the acid. The stronger the acid, the easier it is for the
acid to lose a proton. Ease of separation of the proton depends on polarity H-A bond and size atom of A
(determines strength H-A bond).



c. Estimate the pH of a 0.10 M monochloroacetic acid. What is the approximate percent of
ionization for this acid?
pKa= 2.865
Ka= 10^-2.865=1.36x-3

CH3COO- + H2O = CH3COOH + H3O+
Ka(CH2ClOOH)= [CH3COOH][H3O+]/[CH3COO-]= 1.36x-3
Ka= x^2/(0.1 x)= 1.36x-3

x^2 + ka(x) ka(0.1) =0
x1=1.10x-2
x2= -1.24x02
[H3O+]= 1.10x-2
pH(CH2ClOOH 0.1M)= 1.96

%ionization= 100(1.10x-2)/(0.1)= 11. %