Which of the following salts is the most acidic
in aqueous solutions?
1. KBr
2. NaI
3. Al(NO3)3
4. BaCl2
5. AgNO3
6. Fe(NO3)2
7. Pb(NO3)2
To determine which of the salts is the most acidic in aqueous solutions, we need to consider the cation and anion of each salt and their acidity or basicity.
1. KBr: K+ is the cation and Br- is the anion. Neither K+ nor Br- has acidic or basic properties, so this salt is neutral.
2. NaI: Na+ is the cation and I- is the anion. Like KBr, neither Na+ nor I- has acidic or basic properties, so this salt is also neutral.
3. Al(NO3)3: Al3+ is the cation and NO3- is the anion. Al3+ has acidic properties because it can donate a proton (H+ ion) to water. NO3- is the conjugate base of a strong acid and does not have basic properties. Therefore, this salt tends to be acidic.
4. BaCl2: Ba2+ is the cation and Cl- is the anion. Neither Ba2+ nor Cl- has acidic or basic properties, so this salt is neutral.
5. AgNO3: Ag+ is the cation and NO3- is the anion. Like BaCl2, neither Ag+ nor NO3- has acidic or basic properties, so this salt is also neutral.
6. Fe(NO3)2: Fe2+ is the cation and NO3- is the anion. Fe2+ can donate a proton to water and has acidic properties. Therefore, this salt tends to be acidic.
7. Pb(NO3)2: Pb2+ is the cation and NO3- is the anion. Pb2+ does not have acidic properties. NO3- is the conjugate base of a strong acid and does not have basic properties. Therefore, this salt tends to be neutral.
Based on these considerations, the most acidic salt among the given options is Al(NO3)3 (Option 3), followed by Fe(NO3)2 (Option 6).
To determine which of the listed salts is the most acidic in aqueous solutions, we need to identify the cation (positive ion) and the anion (negative ion) in each salt.
Acidity in aqueous solutions is often determined by the presence of hydrogen ions (H+), which are released when an acid dissolves in water. The anion of the salt can either be a weak base or a strong base. If the anion is a weak base, it has a tendency to hold on to the H+ ions and reduce the acidity of the solution.
Let's analyze each of the salts:
1. KBr: In this salt, the cation is potassium (K+) and the anion is bromide (Br-). Neither potassium nor bromide has any significant acidic or basic properties, so this salt is not expected to be acidic.
2. NaI: In this salt, the cation is sodium (Na+) and the anion is iodide (I-). Similar to the previous case, there are no acidic or basic properties associated with this salt.
3. Al(NO3)3: In this salt, the cation is aluminum (Al3+) and the anion is nitrate (NO3-). Nitrate is a weak base, so it does not contribute to acidity. However, aluminum has the potential to hydrolyze and release H+ ions, making this salt slightly acidic.
4. BaCl2: In this salt, the cation is barium (Ba2+) and the anion is chloride (Cl-). Neither barium nor chloride has any acidic or basic properties, so this salt is not expected to be acidic.
5. AgNO3: In this salt, the cation is silver (Ag+) and the anion is nitrate (NO3-). As mentioned earlier, nitrate is a weak base and does not contribute to acidity. Silver, being a transition metal cation, can hydrolyze and form H+ ions, making this salt slightly acidic.
6. Fe(NO3)2: In this salt, the cation is iron (Fe2+) and the anion is nitrate (NO3-). Similar to the previous case, nitrate is a weak base, while iron can hydrolyze and release H+ ions, making this salt slightly acidic.
7. Pb(NO3)2: In this salt, the cation is lead (Pb2+) and the anion is nitrate (NO3-). As mentioned earlier, nitrate is a weak base and does not contribute to acidity. Lead can also hydrolyze to release H+ ions, making this salt slightly acidic.
Based on this analysis, the salts with potential acidity are Al(NO3)3, AgNO3, Fe(NO3)2, and Pb(NO3)2. So, among the listed salts, these are the most acidic in aqueous solutions.
Please note that the acidity of a solution can be influenced by other factors, such as concentration and temperature, but in this case, we are considering only the inherent acidity of the salts.