acid dissociation constant

(noun)

Quantitative measure of the strength of an acid in solution; typically written as a ratio of the equilibrium concentrations.

Related Terms

  • (HC2H3O2)
  • dissociation
  • equilibrium
  • conjugate acid
  • conjugate base
  • pH

(noun)

Quantitative measure of the strength of an acid in solution; typically written as a ratio of the equilibrium concentrations of products to reactants.

Related Terms

  • (HC2H3O2)
  • dissociation
  • equilibrium
  • conjugate acid
  • conjugate base
  • pH

Examples of acid dissociation constant in the following topics:

  • Acid Dissociation Constant (Ka)

    • The acid dissociation constant (Ka) is the measure of the strength of an acid in solution.
    • The acid dissociation constant (Ka) is a quantitative measure of the strength of an acid in solution.
    • Ka is the equilibrium constant for the following dissociation reaction of an acid in aqueous solution:
    • Acid dissociation constants are most often associated with weak acids, or acids that do not completely dissociate in solution.
    • Acetic acid is a weak acid with an acid dissociation constant $K_a=1.8\times 10^{-5}$ .
  • The Acid Dissociation Constant

    • The acid dissociation constant measures the strength of an acid and is essential for understanding acid-base equilibria in solution.
    • To understand the acid dissociation constant, it is first important to understand the equilibrium equation for acid dissocation.
    • It is the equilibrium constant for a chemical reaction known as dissociation in the context of acid-base reactions.
    • The logarithmic constant, pKa, which is equal to −log10 (Ka), is sometimes incorrectly referred to as an acid dissociation constant as well.
    • Discuss the quantitative and qualitative relationship between acid dissociation constant (Ka) and the equilibrium constant for solutions
  • Specialized Equilibrium Constants

    • The value of the dissociation constant of water, KW, is $1.0\times 10^{-14}$.
    • An acid dissociation constant, Ka, is the equilibrium constant for the dissociation of an acid in aqueous solution.
    • The base dissociation constant, Kb, is analogous to the acid dissociation constant.
    • As with the acid dissociation constant, large values of Kb are indicative of a stronger base, while small values of Kb are indicative of a weaker base.
    • A ball-and-stick model of the dissociation of acetic acid to acetate.
  • Diprotic and Polyprotic Acids

    • With any polyprotic acid, the first amd most strongly acidic proton dissociates completely before the second-most acidic proton even begins to dissociate.
    • The first dissociation constant is necessarily greater than the second ( i.e.
    • This first dissociation step of sulfuric acid will occur completely, which is why sulfuric acid is considered a strong acid; the second dissociation step is only weakly dissociating, however.
    • A triprotic acid (H3A) can undergo three dissociations and will therefore have three dissociation constants: Ka1 > Ka2 > Ka3.
    • The following formula shows how to find this fractional concentration of HA-, in which pH and the acid dissociation constants for each dissociation step are known:
  • Weak Acids

    • A weak acid is one that does not dissociate completely in solution; this means that a weak acid does not donate all of its hydrogen ions (H+) in a solution.
    • On average, only about 1 percent of a weak acid solution dissociates in water in a 0.1 mol/L solution.
    • The generalized dissociation reaction is given by:
    • The strength of a weak acid is represented as either an equilibrium constant or a percent dissociation.
    • The equilibrium concentrations of reactants and products are related by the acid dissociation constant expression, Ka:
  • Base Dissociation Constant

    • The base dissociation constant, Kb, is a measure of basicity—the base's general strength.
    • It is related to the acid dissociation constant, Ka, by the simple relationship pKa + pKb = 14, where pKb and pKa are the negative logarithms of Kb and Ka, respectively.
    • The base dissociation constant can be expressed as follows:
    • Historically, the equilibrium constant Kb for a base has been defined as the association constant for protonation of the base, B, to form the conjugate acid, HB+.
    • Calculate the Kw (water dissociation constant) using the following equation: Kw = [H+] x [OH−]  and manpulate the formula to determine [OH−] = Kw/[H+] or [H+]=Kw/[OH-]
  • Calculating Equilibrium Concentrations of Polyprotic Acids

    • The first proton's dissociation may be denoted as Ka1 and the constants for successive protons' dissociations as Ka2, etc.
    • As we are already aware, sulfuric acid's first proton is strongly acidic and dissociates completely in solution:
    • When a weak diprotic acid such as carbonic acid, H2CO3, dissociates, most of the protons present come from the first dissociation step:
    • Since the second dissociation constant is smaller by four orders of magnitude (pKa2 = 10.25 is larger by four units), the contribution of hydrogen ions from the second dissociation will be only one ten-thousandth as large.
    • The above concentration can be used if pH is known, as well as the two acid dissociation constants for each dissociation step; oftentimes, calculations can be simplified for polyprotic acids, however.
  • Absolute Concentrations of the Acid and Conjugate Base

    • A buffer is an aqueous solution consisting of a mixture of a weak acid and its conjugate base or a weak base and its conjugate acid.
    • Buffer solutions are used as a means of keeping pH at a nearly constant value in a wide variety of situations.
    • The Ka for acetic acid is 1.8 x 10-5.
    • Once again, using the acid dissociation constant, we can solve for x to get [H+] = 2.11 x 10-5 M.
    • 8.1.3 Deduce the formula of the conjugate acid/base of any Brønsted-Lowry base/acid IB Chemistry SL - YouTube
  • Calculating the pH of a Buffer Solution

    • The pH of a buffer solution can be calculated from the equilibrium constant and the initial concentration of the acid.
    • The strength of a weak acid is usually represented as an equilibrium constant.
    • The acid-dissociation equilibrium constant (Ka), which measures the propensity of an acid to dissociate, for the reaction is:
    • During the reaction, the NH4+ will dissociate into H+ and NH3.
    • Calculate the pH of a buffer made only from a weak acid.
  • Calculating Percent Dissociation

    • We have already discussed quantifying the strength of a weak acid by relating it to its acid equilibrium constant Ka; now we will do so in terms of the acid's percent dissociation.
    • However, because the acid dissociates only to a very slight extent, we can assume x is small.
    • As we would expect for a weak acid, the percent dissociation is quite small.
    • However, for some weak acids, the percent dissociation can be higher—upwards of 10% or more.
    • Calculate percent dissociation for weak acids from their Ka values and a given concentration.
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