554 Modern Approach to Chemical Calculations

75
 [H]  [HCl]  
50
75
 pH   log  08239.
50

Ex. 13. Calculate the pH at which an acid indicator with Ka  1  10 5 changes
colour when the indicator is 1  10 3 M.
Solution : When the indicator HIn is added to a solution, there exists the
equilibrium,
HIn S H  In
colour A colour B
[H] [In ]
KIn  
[HIn]
The midpoint of the colour range of an indicator HIn is the point at which
[In ]  [HIn]
 KIn  [H]  1  10 5 ; pH  5.
Thus at pH  5 of the solution, the indicator will change its colour.

Ex. 14. An acid-type indicator, HIn, differs in colour from its conjugate base (In).
The human eye is sensitive to colour differences only when the ratio
[In ]/[HIn] is greater than 10 or smaller than 01. What should be the
minimum change in the pH of the solution to observe a complete colour change?
Ka  10  105 (IIT 1997)

Solution : HIn S H  In

[H] [In]
Ka 
[HIn]
[In] Ka  [H]  10
When  10;
[HIn] [H]  1  105/10  106
pH  6
[In] 1 [H]  1  105  10  104
When  ;
[HIn] 10 pH  4
 minimum change in pH = 6  4 = 2.

Ex. 15. An acid–base indicator has Ka of 3  105. The acid form of the indicator is red
and the basic form is blue. By how much must the pH change in order to change
the indicator from 75% red to 75% blue?