Acids, Bases and Buffers Flashcards
What is a Bronsted-Lowry acid?
A proton donor.
What is a strong acid?
An acid that completely dissociates ie it fully ionises when dissolved in water.
What happens when a strong acid reacts with water? What are the products?
H+ is transferred to a water molecule to produce a hydroxonium ion and a negative ion depending on what acid you use from the start. HA + H2O H3O+ + A-
Why is it that we assume the dissociation of a strong acid (when it reacts with water) is one wayed?
It is a reversible reaction but the forward reaction is must more successful than the backward one i.e. the acid is soo good at giving away H+.
What is the reaction of HCl and H2O? Why is it one wayed?
H2O(l) + HCl(g) –> H3O+(aq) + Cl-(aq) So little of the reverse reaction happens hence why we write it one wayed. Virtually 100% of H+ have reacted to form hydroxonium ion so it is 100% ionised/dissociated.
What is pH?
The measure of the concentration of H+ ions in a solution. The lower the pH, the higher the concentration of H+.
What is the equation for calculating pH?
pH = -log[H+(aq]
How do you calculate [H+] from the pH of a strong acid?
[H+] = 10^-pH
What is weak acid?
An acid that partially dissociates i.e. it doesn’t fully ionise in water.
When writing the ionisation etc of a weak acid e.g. CH3COOH + H2O H3O+ + Ch3COO-, why do you write an equilibrium sign?
The back reaction is more successful than the forward reaction. The further the position is to the left, the weaker the acid is.
What is the equation of the acid dissociate constant, Ka?
Ka = [H+][A-] ———— [HA]
What is the acid dissociate?
The measure of position of equilibrium.
What is the equation for acid dissociation?
HA H+ + A-
How do you calculate pKa?
pKa = -log Ka
How do you calculate Ka from pKa?
Ka = 10 ^ pKa
What does the pKa tell you? e.g. the higher the pKa…
The HIGHER the pKa, the WEAKER the acid. The LOWER the pKa, the STRONGER the acid.