Find the % ionization if the pH of a 0.10 mol/L solution is 4.5
To find the percent ionization, we first need to determine the concentration of the ionized species in the solution. In this case, we need to find the concentration of H+ ions, as the pH of the solution is given.
The pH is a measure of the concentration of H+ ions in a solution and is mathematically defined as the negative logarithm (base 10) of the H+ ion concentration:
pH = -log[H+]
To find the concentration of H+ ions, we need to convert the pH value back into a concentration. Rearranging the equation, we get:
[H+] = 10^(-pH) = 10^(-4.5)
[H+] = 3.162 x 10^(-5) mol/L
Now that we have the concentration of H+ ions, we can calculate the percent ionization. Percent ionization is defined as the ratio of the concentration of ionized species to the initial concentration of the solution, multiplied by 100.
% ionization = ([H+] / initial concentration) x 100
The initial concentration of the solution is given as 0.10 mol/L, so we can substitute the values:
% ionization = (3.162 x 10^(-5) / 0.10) x 100
% ionization ≈ 0.0316%
Therefore, the percent ionization of the solution is approximately 0.0316%.