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The weak nitrous acid, HNO_2, has an acid-ionization constant of 4.5×10 ^−4 . What is the expression for the acid-ionization constant (Ka)? Calculate the pK afor HNO_2 .

User Stenlytw
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Answer: the expression for the acid-ionization constant (Ka) is [H+][NO2-] / [HNO2], and the pKa for HNO2 is approximately 3.35.

Step-by-step explanation:

The expression for the acid-ionization constant (Ka) is the ratio of the concentration of the products to the concentration of the reactants in an acid-ionization reaction. For the weak acid nitrous acid (HNO2), the acid-ionization reaction can be represented as follows:

HNO2 ⇌ H+ + NO2-

The acid-ionization constant (Ka) can be expressed as:

Ka = [H+][NO2-] / [HNO2]

Given that the acid-ionization constant for nitrous acid is 4.5×10^-4, we can plug in the known concentrations to calculate the pKa.

pKa is defined as the negative logarithm (base 10) of the acid-ionization constant (Ka). Therefore, the formula for calculating pKa is:

pKa = -log10(Ka)

By substituting the value of Ka (4.5×10^-4) into the equation, we can calculate pKa:

pKa = -log10(4.5×10^-4)

Calculating this expression, we find that the pKa for HNO2 is approximately 3.35.

In summary, the expression for the acid-ionization constant (Ka) is [H+][NO2-] / [HNO2], and the pKa for HNO2 is approximately 3.35.

User Sayan Malakshinov
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