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Determine the pH of each solution

a. 0.22 M KCHO2 (Ka(HCHO2)=1.8×10−4)
b. 0.25 M CH3NH3I (Kb(CH3NH2)=4.4×10−4)
c. 0.17 M KI

(for a. I got 11.79 but the HW said that i found the pOH of HCHO2, it said: "instead calculate the pH for the KCHO2 solution, where the CHO2− ion acts as a base")

User Motto
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1 Answer

3 votes

.

a. KCHO2 is the salt of the weak acid HCHO2, and since it is a salt of a weak acid, it will hydrolyze in water to produce a basic solution. The hydrolysis reaction is:

CHO2- (aq) + H2O (l) ⇌ HCHO2 (aq) + OH- (aq)

The equilibrium constant for this reaction is:

Kb = Kw / Ka = 1.0 × 10^-14 / 1.8 × 10^-4 = 5.56 × 10^-11

The initial concentration of CHO2- is 0.22 M, and since it hydrolyzes to produce OH-, the concentration of OH- at equilibrium is also equal to x. Let's define x as the concentration of OH- and set up an ICE table:

I: CHO2- H2O ⇌ HCHO2 OH-

C: 0.22 M -- -- --

E: 0.22-x -- x x

The equilibrium constant expression for the hydrolysis reaction is:

Kb = [HCHO2][OH-] / [CHO2-] = x^2 / (0.22 - x)

Solving for x, we get:

x = sqrt(Kb * (0.22 - x)) = sqrt(5.56 × 10^-11 * 0.22) = 1.32 × 10^-6 M

The pH of the solution can be calculated from the concentration of OH-:

pOH = -log[OH-] = -log(1.32 × 10^-6) = 5.88

pH = 14 - pOH = 8.12

Therefore, the pH of the 0.22 M KCHO2 solution is 8.12.

b. CH3NH3I is the salt of the weak base CH3NH2, and since it is a salt of a weak base, it will hydrolyze in water to produce an acidic solution. The hydrolysis reaction is:

CH3NH3+ (aq) + H2O (l) ⇌ CH3NH2 (aq) + H3O+ (aq)

The equilibrium constant for this reaction is:

Ka = Kw / Kb = 1.0 × 10^-14 / 4.4 × 10^-4 = 2.27 × 10^-11

The initial concentration of CH3NH3+ is 0.25 M, and since it hydrolyzes to produce H3O+, the concentration of H3O+ at equilibrium is also equal to x. Let's define x as the concentration of H3O+ and set up an ICE table:

I: CH3NH3+ H2O ⇌ CH3NH2 H3O+

C: 0.25 M -- -- --

E: 0.25-x -- x x

The equilibrium constant expression for the hydrolysis reaction is:

Ka = [CH3NH2][H3O+] / [CH3NH3+] = x^2 / (0.25 - x)

Solving for x, we get:

x = sqrt(Ka * (0.25 - x)) = sqrt(2.27 × 10^-11 * 0.25) = 7.52 × 10^-6 M

The pH of the solution can be calculated from the concentration of H3O+:

pH = -log[H3O+] = -log(7.52 × 10^-6) =

User David Silva
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