142k views
2 votes
A lake has been acidified to a pH of 4.045. If the lake has a volume of 8.99×10^4 cubic meters, what mass, in kg, of CaO must be added to raise the pH to a value of 7.00?

Hint: The reaction of CaO with water is: CaO + H2O -> Ca(OH)2

User Head
by
6.3k points

1 Answer

7 votes

To solve this problem, we can use the following steps:

Step 1: Calculate the amount of H+ ions in the lake.

pH is a measure of the concentration of hydrogen ions (H+) in a solution. The lower the pH, the higher the concentration of H+ ions. The pH of the lake is 4.045, so we can calculate the concentration of H+ ions using the following equation:

pH = -log[H+]

4.045 = -log[H+]

[H+] = 7.27 × 10^-5 mol/L

Step 2: Calculate the amount of hydroxide ions (OH-) needed to neutralize the H+ ions.

To raise the pH to 7.00, we need to add enough hydroxide ions (OH-) to neutralize the H+ ions in the lake. The balanced chemical equation for this reaction is:

Ca(OH)2 + 2H+ → Ca2+ + 2H2O

For every 2 H+ ions, we need 1 Ca(OH)2 molecule to neutralize them. The amount of Ca(OH)2 needed can be calculated using the following equation:

mol Ca(OH)2 = 0.5 × [H+] × V / 1000

where V is the volume of the lake in liters (8.99 × 10^7 L), and we divide by 1000 to convert from cubic meters to liters.

mol Ca(OH)2 = 0.5 × (7.27 × 10^-5 mol/L) × (8.99 × 10^7 L) / 1000

mol Ca(OH)2 = 3275.5 mol

Step 3: Calculate the mass of CaO needed to produce the required amount of Ca(OH)2.

To produce Ca(OH)2, we need to react CaO with water:

CaO + H2O → Ca(OH)2

The molar mass of CaO is 56.08 g/mol, so the mass of CaO needed can be calculated using the following equation:

mass CaO = mol CaO × molar mass CaO

mol CaO = mol Ca(OH)2 / 1 (from the balanced equation)

mass CaO = (mol Ca(OH)2 / 1) × (molar mass CaO / 1 mol CaO)

mass CaO = 3275.5 mol × 56.08 g/mol

mass CaO = 183,812.8 g = 183.8 kg (to 3 significant figures)

Therefore, 183.8 kg of CaO must be added to raise the pH of the lake from 4.045 to 7.00.

User Akhil K C
by
7.1k points