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Carbonic acid (H₂CO₃) is a polyprotic acid. When carbonic acid dissolves in water, which is higher, the concentration of HCO₃- ions or the concentration of CO₃²- ions?

Please explain!

User Elektropepi
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1 Answer

14 votes
14 votes

The concentration of CO₃²⁻ ions will be higher

To explain, I want you to imagine H₂CO₃ in water.

we know that it will lose 2 of it's protons, and form 2 ions

The ion which is more stable will have a higher concentration because that ion will refuse to react with anything else, so once something turns into that specific ion, it's not going back... unless there's a more stabler ion possible

In this case, the 2 ions formed are: HCO₃⁻ and CO₃⁽²⁻⁾, drawing the structures of both the ions tells us that both of them have resonance, but the CO₃⁽²⁻⁾ ion has more resonance structures and hence is more stable

Carbonic acid (H₂CO₃) is a polyprotic acid. When carbonic acid dissolves in water-example-1
Carbonic acid (H₂CO₃) is a polyprotic acid. When carbonic acid dissolves in water-example-2
User Abel Morelos
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