Posted by polkadot on Friday, April 8, 2011 at 8:46pm.

Can someone please help me by explaining and correcting me?

1) A 0.057M solution of a weak acid has a pH of 4.93. Determine the ionization constant, Ka, of the acid.
a) 2.1 x 10^-4
b) 2.4 x 10^-9
c) 4.1 x 10^-8
d) 2.8 x 10^-7
e) 1.4 x 10^-10
-- To be honest, I skipped this. I know that the Ka = ((H3O^+)(A^-))/(HA), but I didn't know how to find (A^-). Am I approaching this question wrong? Is there a step I missed or can this be solved another way? Perhaps it has something to do with an ICE chart?

2) For the following compound, predict whether the solution is acidic, basic, or neutral and why: NH4Cl.
a) acidic, NH4Cl is the salt of a weak base
b) neutral because there is no hydrolysis
c) acidic, NH4Cl is a strong acid
d) basic, NH4Cl is the salt of a weak acid
e) basic, NH4Cl is a weak base
-- I picked D. I think I may have chosen wrong. I think it dissociates into NH4^+ and Cl^- making an acidic solution... but I'm not so sure

3)
For a reaction where rate = k (A)(B)^2, what factor will NOT change k?
a) raising the temperature
b) increasing concentration of A
c) adding a catalyst
d) none of these
e) lowering the temperature
-- I picked C, although at first I thought it was B...

Thank you for helping, I really appreciate it :)

* chem - bobpursley, Friday, April 8, 2011 at 9:01pm

1. Yes, you have to do an ice table.
2. You picked d, but you thinkiit s either a or c?
3. You picked C, but you thougth it was B.

Years of experience tells my you are fishing for the right answers. And, the same years of experience tells me you have been doing this for years.

I will be happy to critique your thinking. Lay out why, and we can work through it, but I am not going to give it to you.

* chem - polkadot, Friday, April 8, 2011 at 11:24pm

It's actually the end of my first year doing this topic hahah x)

for 1) i got 2.4 x 10^-9 for the Ka value. I understand what i over looked, thank you.

2) Well i just get very confused when especially with salts, acids, and bases. NH4Cl(aq) dissociates into NH4^+ and Cl^-. NH3/NH4^+ are conj acid/base pairs. and I know that NH3 is a weak base, making NH4^+ a strong acid, right? so the solution of this compound is acidic because.... (and this is where I got confused.

3) well I just need some reassurance here. It must be C, right? I'm pretty sure it is C. At first I thought it was B because in my notes it says change of concentrations of reactants does not change the K value of the reaction, but it's just the wording of the questions that is bugging me. is it the formula that they are asking about or the chemical reaction?

* chem - polkadot, Friday, April 8, 2011 at 11:40pm

I think I got the reasoning for 2), it is acidic because it is the salt made from a strong acid and a weak base, therefore it is A (salt of weak base), not C (the salt is neutral itself, but slightly acidic in a solution). I believe this is the right answer. Am I wrong?

2. Yes, it is acidic because it is a salt made from a salt of a strong acid and a weak base.

3. Catalysts speed a reaction by providing an alternate reaction pathway, since they speed it, the rate constant is greatly changed.

Good thinking.

I confused the rate constant with Keq, silly me. k=Ae^(-Ea/RT) looking at that equation and given my options... the answer would be D, none of these. I believe that's right, I understand this much better now, thank you.

For question 1:

To determine the ionization constant, Ka, of the weak acid, you need to use the pH of the solution and the concentration of the acid. The equation you mentioned, Ka = ((H3O+)(A-))/(HA), is correct. However, you mentioned that you didn't know how to find (A-). In this case, (A-) represents the concentration of the conjugate base of the weak acid.

To find the concentration of (A-), you can use an ICE table. Assuming the weak acid completely ionizes, you can start by writing the initial, change, and equilibrium concentrations of the acid and its conjugate base.

Let's assume the weak acid is denoted by the formula HA. The initial concentration of HA is 0.057 M, and the changes in concentration are -x for HA and +x for (A-). At equilibrium, the concentration of HA will be (0.057 - x) M, and the concentration of (A-) will be x M.

Now, you can use the pH of the solution to find the concentration of H3O+. You can use the equation pH = -log[H3O+] to calculate [H3O+]. In this case, you know that the pH is 4.93, so [H3O+] = 10^(-pH) = 10^(-4.93) M.

Finally, you can substitute the values you have into the equation Ka = ((H3O+)(A-))/(HA) and solve for Ka. This will give you the ionization constant of the acid.

Now let's move on to question 2:

NH4Cl is a salt composed of the weak base NH3 (ammonia) and the strong acid HCl (hydrochloric acid). When NH4Cl dissolves in water, it dissociates into NH4+ and Cl- ions.

NH4+ is the conjugate acid of the weak base NH3, and Cl- is the conjugate base of the strong acid HCl. NH4Cl can act as a source of acidic or basic ions in solution, depending on the relative strengths of these conjugate acids and bases.

In this case, NH4+ is the cation and it is a conjugate acid of a weak base. Weak conjugate acids are typically acidic in nature. Therefore, NH4Cl will produce an acidic solution.

Now let's move on to question 3:

The given reaction has a rate equation of rate = k (A)(B)^2, where A and B represent the reactants. The factor that will NOT change k is the one that does not affect the rate equation.

The rate constant, k, depends on factors such as temperature, concentration, and the presence of a catalyst. However, in this case, the rate equation does not involve the concentration of the reactants (A and B). Therefore, increasing the concentration of A or any other reactant will not change the rate constant, k.

The correct answer is b) increasing the concentration of A.

I hope this helps clarify the questions for you.