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Uric Acid Dissociates As Shown In The Figure At The Right With A PKa Of 5.80, And Can Be Treated As A Simple Monoprotic Acid In This PH Range. Its Solubility In Urine Depends On The Relative Amount Of Protonated And Unprotonated Forms. A Urine Sample Was Found To Have A PH Of 5.38. What Would Be The Ratio Of The Unprotonated Form, A- , To The Protonated

User Ivankeller
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Final answer:

Using the Henderson-Hasselbalch equation, the ratio of unprotonated to protonated uric acid in the given urine sample is approximately 0.4. This indicates that there is more protonated uric acid than unprotonated form in the urine sample at the given pH.

Step-by-step explanation:

The ratio of the unprotonated form (A-) to the protonated form (HA) in a solution can be calculated using the Henderson-Hasselbalch equation: pH = pKa + log ([A-]/[HA]). In this case, the pKa value of uric acid given is 5.80 and the pH of the urine sample is 5.38.

You can rearrange the equation to solve for the ratio ([A-]/[HA]) = 10^(pH-pKa). By substituting the given values into this equation, the ratio of unprotonated to protonated uric acid in the urine sample is calculated to be 10^(5.38-5.80) ≈ 0.4 (approximately).

This means that in the given pH range, there is more protonated uric acid than unprotonated form in the urine sample.

Learn more about Acid-Base Equilibrium

User Vitalii Ivanov
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