Question

How many steps are required to completely ionize a triprotic acid?

Answer 1

the amswer to your question is 3 steps to complete the proces

Answer 2

H3PO4 + H2O <--> H3O+ + H2PO4- Ka1= ([H3O+][H2PO4-])/[H3PO4]) H2PO4- + H2O <--> H3O+ + HPO4^2- Ka2= ([H3O+][HPO4^2-])/[H2PO4-]) HPO4^2- + H2O <--> H3O+ PO4^3- Ka3= ([H3O+][PO4^3-])/[HPO4^2-]) Ka1 >> Ka2 = almost all the H3O+ is formed in the first step. Ka3 will only happen under very basic conditions.