hello, I can't seem to solve this question. i tried to look up someone else who may have asked this question. I found this girl named Sara,but her answer didn't really help me much because it did not answer the question.
What is the pH when enough 0.10 M NaOH Base (in mL) is added to neutralize 8 mL of 0.10 M HC2H3O2 Acid? HCl Acid?
I already solved for the pH of HCl and HC2H3O2 for the previous questions, but this question puzzles me because they do not really give you that much information to solve the question. What gets plugged into the pH = pKa + log(base/acid) equation? We do not have a value for pKa or the log(base/acid).
This is what was sent to Sara:
"When a strong acid is added (exactly neutralized) to a strong base, the salt produced is neutral (neither cation nor anion is hydrolyzed) and the pH = 8.
When a weak acid and a salt of the weak acid are present in solution, you have a buffered solution and you must use the Henderson-Hasselbalch equation to solve for the pH.
pH = pKa + log [(base)/(acid)]"
Wouldn't the pH be 7 for the strong acid, not 8? I'm confused....
Thomas, I just finished answering this question at your original post. Take a peek at that and if you don't understand what I have written, re-post here and I'll pick it up.
It seems like there may be some confusion regarding the concepts of strong acids, weak acids, and the pH scale. Let me explain.
Firstly, when a strong acid (such as HCl) is added to a strong base (such as NaOH) in equal amounts, they completely neutralize each other. In this case, the resulting pH would indeed be close to 7, which is considered neutral. So, your understanding is correct.
However, the question you provided involves a weak acid, HC2H3O2 (acetic acid), and its neutralization with NaOH. In this scenario, the resulting solution won't be perfectly neutral (pH 7), but rather form a buffer system. A buffer system consists of a weak acid and its salt, which help maintain the pH of the solution within a certain range.
To solve this question, you need to apply the Henderson-Hasselbalch equation, as Sara mentioned. It is used for calculating the pH of a buffered solution. The equation is:
pH = pKa + log [(base)/(acid)]
Here, pKa represents the dissociation constant of the weak acid (HC2H3O2), and (base) and (acid) represent the concentrations of the base (NaOH) and acid (HC2H3O2), respectively.
However, in the given question, you don't have the values for pKa, base, or acid concentration. That's why it seems difficult to solve. It's possible that some crucial information may be missing from the question or that further calculations are needed.
I would recommend going back to the question and rechecking if any additional information or calculations are required to determine the pH when NaOH is added to neutralize the HC2H3O2 acid and the HCl acid.