The pH of 0.3 HSO3- is:

(How can this problem be solved?)

The final answer is 4.41

However, I keep getting 3.76

Ka of HSO3^-=6.3 x 10^-8

HSO3^- --------> H^+ + SO3^-

Ka=[H^+][SO3^-]/[HSO3^-]

E of the ICE chart is the following:

[H^+]..[SO3^-]...[HSO3^-]

x............x............0.3M-x

Plug in values to Ka equation:

Ka=[x][x]/[0.3M-x]

I am going to assume x is small and ignore, but will have to check the assumption afterwards.

6.3 x 10^-8=x^2/[0.3M]

([0.3M]*Ka)^1/2=x

x=1.37 x 10^-4 M

1.37 x 10^-4 M/0.3M=0.04%

The assumption checks out.

x=H^+

and pH=-log[H^+]

pH=-log[1.37 x 10^-4 M]=3.86

pH=3.86

Now, pay attention and see what happens when I change the concentration from 0.3M to 0.03M:

E of the ICE chart is the following:

[H^+]..[SO3^-]...[HSO3^-]

x............x............0.3M-x

Plug in values to Ka equation:

Ka=[x][x]/[0.03M-x]

I am going to assume x is small and ignore, but will have to check the assumption afterwards.

6.3 x 10^-8=x^2/[0.03M]

([0.03M]*Ka)^1/2=x

x=4.35 x 10^-5 M

4.35 x 10^-5 M/0.03M=0.14%

The assumption checks out.

x=H^+

and pH=-log[H^+]

pH=-log[4.35 x 10^-5 M]=4.36

pH=4.36

I have never seen a HSO3^- concentration that high, which is were the error has occurred. Next time, include the Ka value that is given to you. This seems like a made up problem that your teacher didn't check or you made a typo. I don't think that a 0.3M solution of HSO3^- can be made.

Ka of HSO3^-=6.3 x 10^-8

HSO3^- --------> H^+ + SO3^-

Ka=[H^+][SO3^-]/[HSO3^-]

E of the ICE chart is the following:

[H^+]..[SO3^-]...[HSO3^-]

x............x............0.3M-x

Plug in values to Ka equation:

Ka=[x][x]/[0.3M-x]

I am going to assume x is small and ignore, but will have to check the assumption afterwards.

6.3 x 10^-8=x^2/[0.3M]

([0.3M]*Ka)^1/2=x

x=1.37 x 10^-4 M

(1.37 x 10^-4 M/0.3M)*100=0.04%

The assumption checks out.

x=H^+

and pH=-log[H^+]

pH=-log[1.37 x 10^-4 M]=3.86

pH=3.86

Now, pay attention and see what happens when I change the concentration from 0.3M to 0.03M:

E of the ICE chart is the following:

[H^+]..[SO3^-]...[HSO3^-]

x............x............0.03M-x

Plug in values to Ka equation:

Ka=[x][x]/[0.03M-x]

I am going to assume x is small and ignore, but will have to check the assumption afterwards.

6.3 x 10^-8=x^2/[0.03M]

([0.03M]*Ka)^1/2=x

x=4.35 x 10^-5 M

(4.35 x 10^-5 M/0.03M)*100=0.14%

The assumption checks out.

x=H^+

and pH=-log[H^+]

pH=-log[4.35 x 10^-5 M]=4.36

pH=4.36

I have never seen a HSO3^- concentration that high, which is were the error has occurred. Next time, include the Ka value that is given to you. This seems like a made up problem that your teacher didn't check or you made a typo. I don't think that a 0.3M solution of HSO3^- can be made.

To solve this problem, you need to understand the concept of pH and how it relates to acidic or basic solutions.

pH is a measure of the acidity or alkalinity of a solution. It is defined as the negative logarithm (base 10) of the concentration of hydrogen ions (H+) in a solution. The pH scale ranges from 0 to 14, where 0 is highly acidic, 7 is neutral, and 14 is highly basic.

In this problem, you are given a concentration of 0.3 HSO3-. To find the pH, you first need to determine the concentration of H+ ions in the solution.

HSO3- is the conjugate base of the weak acid H2SO3. H2SO3 is a diprotic acid, which means it can donate two protons (H+ ions). When H2SO3 loses one proton, it forms HSO3-.

To find the concentration of H+ ions in the solution, you need to consider the equilibrium reaction of HSO3-:

HSO3- + H2O ⇌ H3O+ + SO32-

Using an equilibrium expression, we can write the equation as:

[H3O+] = K × [HSO3-]

K is the equilibrium constant for this reaction. Since HSO3- is a weak acid, its dissociation constant (Ka) can be used as the equilibrium constant for this reaction. The Ka value for HSO3- is 1.2 x 10^-2.

Now, substitute the given concentration [HSO3-] = 0.3 into the equation:

[H3O+] = (1.2 x 10^-2) × (0.3)

[H3O+] = 3.6 x 10^-3

To find the pH, take the negative logarithm (base 10) of [H3O+]:

pH = -log([H3O+]) = -log(3.6 x 10^-3) = 2.44

Therefore, the pH of 0.3 HSO3- is 2.44.

It appears that your calculated value of 3.76 is incorrect. Double-check your calculations or verify the given concentration to ensure accuracy.