Question

Why is it that when you have a strong acid and weak base your equivalence point is less than 7

Answer 1

Step-by-step explanation:

When a strong acid, say
`HCl` reacts which a weak base, say
`NH_3`, the reaction is shown below as:-

`\text{NH}_3 (\text{aq}) + \text{HCl} (\text{aq}) \rightarrow {\text{NH}_4^+}(\text{aq}) + \text{Cl}^-(\text{aq})`

The salt further reacts with water as shown below:-

`\text{NH}_4^+ + \text{H}_2\text{O} \rightarrow \text{H}_3\text{O}^+ + \text{NH}_3`

Formation of
`\text{H}_3\text{O}^+` lowers the pH value of the solution as more hydrogen ions leads to less pH.