Kell

Name: ___________________________________________________________ Period: _________

Lecture 38
Strong and Weak Acids and Bases (AP Chemistry Topic 8.2 & 8.3)
Student Notes

Enduring Understanding Learning Objective(s)

• The chemistry of acids and bases involves reversible • Calculate pH and pOH based on concentrations of all
proton-transfer reactions, with equilibrium species in a solution of a strong acid or a strong
concentrations being related to the strength of the base.
acids and bases involved. • Explain the relationship among pH, pOH, and
concentrations of all species in a solution of a
monoprotic weak acid or weak base.

Acid Strength

acid is an acid that ____________________

strong __________
A ____________ comlIletely ionizes
_______________or dissociates in solution
acid
whereas a ____________
Weak
partially
__________ only ____________________ ionizes
_______________.

In other words, the strength of an acid depends on the equilibrium:

HA(aq) + H2O(l) ⇋ H3O+(aq) + A-(aq)

If the equilibrium constant is large, the equilibrium lies far to the right and the acid is strong; it completely ionizes. This is
completion
a _____________________ reaction
_________________.

If the equilibrium constant is small, the equilibrium lies far to the left and the acid is weak; only a small percentage of
equilibrium
the acid molecules ionize. This reaction establishes an ____________________.

Looking at the particle diagrams, we can see

that the strong acid completely dissociates,
and the weak acid shows only partial
dissociation.

This is the same way strong and weak

electrolytes
_______________________ were defined. A
strong electrolyte completely dissociates in
solution whereas a weak electrolyte only
partially dissociates in solution.
Strong Acids
Once again, an acid is considered strong if it
completely ionizes.
The following
HCl is an example of a strong acid: are the seven
important
HCl(aq) + H2O(l) → H3O+(aq) + Cl-(aq) strong acids
that you must
A single arrow is used to indicate that this is a memorize.
completion
_____________________ reaction
_________________.
HCl is a strong acid so there is virtually no intact
HCl; it all ionizes to form H3O+(aq) and Cl-(aq)
monoprotic acids
The first six acids are ______________________________which
Due to the fact that it completely ionizes, a 1.0 M one ionizable proton
means they contain only __________________________________.
HCl solution has [H3O+] = 1.0 M and [Cl-] = 1.0 M diprotic acid
Sulfuric acid is an example of a _________________________
because it has 2 ionizable protons
 Weak Acids
Once again, an acid is considered weak if it only partially
ionizes.
The following
HF is an example of a weak acid: are
important
HF(aq) + H2O(l) ⇋ H3O+(aq) + F-(aq) weak acids
that you
A double headed arrow is used to indicate that this is an
should be
______________________ ________________. HF is a weak
familiar with
acid so some of it ionizes to form H3O+(aq) and F-(aq) but there
will still be plenty of intact HF(aq) molecules present.

Due to the fact that it partially ionizes, a 1.0 M HF solution has

It is usually sufficient to memorize the strong
a [H3O+] and [F-] that is much less than 1.0 M and their
acids and understand that all other acids not on
concentrations must be determined using a RICE table
that list are weak acids

Weak Acids and The Acid Ionization Constant (Ka)

We can quantify the relative strength of a weak acid with The equilibrium constants for all weak acids are
the ________________________________________, Ka , ___________________ __________-that is what
which is the equilibrium constant for the dissociation makes them weak acids. However, the magnitudes do
reaction of the weak acid vary. The _______________ the constant, the less the
acid ionizes and the _____________ the acid
For a generic weak acid:

HA(aq) + H2O(l) ⇋ H3O+(aq) + A-(aq)

The equilibrium constant is:

Recall that pure solids and liquids are not included in

equilibrium expressions, so H2O(l) is not included in the
expression for Ka

pKa
We can use the p scale on Ka values:

pKa = -log Ka We can also work backwards and determine the Ka from
the pKa value:
Acid Ka pKa
Ka = 10-pKa
Chlorous
1.1 x 10-2 Acid pKa Ka
acid

Hydrocyanic
Formic -4 9.31
1.8 x 10 acid
acid

Acetic acid 4.74

The pKa of a weak acid can be used to quantify its
strength. The _________________________value, the
___________________________.
 Finding the [H3O+] and pH of Strong Acids
Recall that the pH of a solution depends on the [H3O+]

There are two potential sources of H3O+ in a solution containing an Since a strong acid completely ionizes in
acid: the dissociation of the _________ and the dissociation of solution, the concentration of H3O+ in a
____________ strong acid solution is equal to the
concentration of the strong acid
HA(aq) + H2O(l) ⇋ H3O+(aq) + A-(aq) Ka
In a 0.10 M HCl solution:
H2O(l) + H2O(l) ⇄ H3 O+(aq) + OH-(aq) Kw
•HCl(aq) + H2O(l) → H3O+(aq) + Cl-(aq)
The autoionization of ____________ contributes a negligible amount (completion reaction)
of H3O+ compared to the strong or weak acid so it •[H3O+] = 0.10 M
___________________________. We ___________
•pH = -log[H3O+] = -log(0.10) = 1.00
_______________________on the _______________________
______________________________when determining pH.

Determine the [H3O+], [OH-] and pH for a 0.25 M HCl solution. Determine the [H3O+], [OH-] and pH for a 0.015 M HNO3 solution.

Determine the [H3O+], [OH-] and pH for a solution that is 0.052 M in Determine the [H3O+], [OH-] and pH for a solution that is 0.655% HNO3
HBr and 0.020 M in HNO3 by mass (assume a density of 1.01 g/mL for the solution)

Finding the [H3O+] and pH of Weak Acids

Finding the pH of a weak acid solution is more Find the [H3O+] and pH for a 0.100 M HCN solution. The Ka of
HCN is 4.9 x 10-10
complicated because the ______________________
___________________________________________
__________________________________________.

We have to determine the concentration of H3O+

formed by the equilibrium reaction of the weak acid:

HA(aq) + H2O(l) ⇋ H3O+(aq) + A-(aq)

We must use a RICE table and Ka to determine the

[H3O+] formed by the weak acid equilibria. Then
we can determine pH of the solution
 Find the [H3O+] and pH for a 0.200 M HNO2 solution. The Ka of HNO2 Find the pH for a 0.100 M HClO2 solution. The pKa of HNO2 is 1.96
is 9.6 x 10-4

Finding the Equilibrium Constant from pH A 0.100 M weak acid (HA) solution has a pH of 4.25. Find the Ka
for the acid.

We can use the given pH to find the equilibrium concentration

of H3O+

Then, we can use a RICE table to determine the equilibrium

concentration of all species
You will find that for most weak acids the [HA]eq is effectively
the same as the initial [HA] because they do not ionize very
much

Lastly, we can substitute the equilibrium concentrations into

the expression for Ka and calculate its value

A 0.185 M weak acid (HA) solution has a pH of 2.95. Find the Ka for A 0.175 M weak acid (HA) solution has a pH of 3.25. Find the pKa for
the acid. the acid.

We can quantify the ionization of a weak acid according Find the percent ionization of a 2.5 M HNO2 solution. (Ka
to the percentage of acid molecules that actually ionizes. = 4.6 x 10-4)
We define the percent ionization of a weak acid as the
ratio of the ionized acid concentration to the initial acid
concentration multiplied by 100%.

The concentration of ionized acid is equal to the H3O+

concentration at equilibrium so we use that value for our
concentration of ionized acid
 Determine the percent ionization of a 0.225 M solution of benzoic A 0.148 M solution of a monoprotic acid has a percent ionization of
acid (Ka = 6.5 x 10-5) 1.55%. Determine the acid ionization constant (Ka) for the acid.

Base Strength
The strong bases are all group 1A and
heavy group 2A metal hydroxides. The
following are the strong bases that you
A _____________ _________ is a base that _____________________ must memorize.
________________________ in solution.

NaOH and Sr(OH)2 are examples of strong bases:

NaOH(aq) → Na+(aq) + OH-(aq)

Sr(OH)2(aq) → Sr+2(aq) + 2 OH-(aq)

Note that a single arrow is used because strong bases dissociate in a

_____________________ _________________. Also note that group 2A
metal hydroxides will form 2 moles of OH- when they dissociate.

In a 1.0 M NaOH solution, [Na+] = 1.0 M and [OH-] = 1.0 M

In a 1.0 M Sr(OH)2 solution, [Sr2+] = 1.0 M and [OH-] = 2.0 M All other bases not listed above can
be considered weak bases

Weak Bases

We can quantify the relative strength of a weak

A base is considered weak if it only partially ionizes. Most
base with the base ionization constant Kb which
commonly, weak bases produce OH- by accepting a proton from
is the equilibrium constant for the ionization
water, ionizing water to form OH-
reaction of the weak base
Ammonia, NH3 is an example of a weak base:
For a generic weak base:
NH3(aq) + H2O(l) ⇋ NH4+(aq) + OH-(aq)
B(aq) + H2O(l) ⇋ BH+(aq) + OH-(aq)
A double headed arrow is used to indicate that this is an The equilibrium constant is:
_________________________________________. NH3 is a
weak acid so some of it ionizes, but there will still be plenty of
intact NH3 molecules present.

Due to the fact that it partially ionizes, a 1.0 M NH3 solution has Just as with acids, the ______________ the
a [NH4+] and [OH-] that is much less than 1.0 M and their value of ______, the ______________
concentrations must be determined using a RICE table and Kb. __________________.
 We can use the p scale on Kb values: We can also work backwards and determine the
Kb from the pKb value:
pKb = -log Kb
Kb = 10-pKb
Base Kb pKb
Base pKb Kb

Ammonia 1.76 x 10-5 Carbonate

3.74
ion

Pyridine 1.70 x 10-9

Aniline 9.41

The Kb of a weak base can be used to quantify its strength.

The __________________________________ value, the _____________
______________
Finding the [OH-] and pH of Strong Bases
What is the OH- concentration and pH of 0.225 M KOH? What is the OH- concentration and pH of 0.0015 M Sr(OH)2?

Finding the [OH-] and pH of Weak Bases

Finding the pH of a weak base is analogous to finding
the pH of a weak acid. We neglect the contribution of Find the [OH-] and pH for a 0.100 M NH3 solution. The Kb of
NH3 is 1.76 x 10-5
the autoionization of water and focus on the weak
base itself.

We have to determine the concentration of OH-

formed by the equilibrium reaction of the weak base:

B(aq) + H2O(l) ⇋ BH+(aq) + OH-(aq)

We must use a RICE table and Kb to determine the

[OH-] formed by the weak base equilibria. Then we
can determine pOH and then the pH of the solution

Find the [OH-] and pH of a 0.33 M methylamine solution. The Kb of methylamine is 4.4 x 10-4
Find the [OH-] and pH of a 0.125 M CO32- solution. The Kb of CO32- is Caffeine (C8H10N4O2) is a weak base with a pKb of 10.4. Calculate the
1.8 x 10-4 pH of a solution containing a caffeine concentration of 225 mg/L.

Finding the Equilibrium Constant from pH

We can use the given pH to find the pOH

and then the equilibrium concentration of Morphine is a weak base. A 0.150 M solution of morphine has a pH of 10.5. What is the
OH- Kb for morphine?

Then, we can use a RICE table to

determine the equilibrium concentration
of all species
You will find that for most weak bases the
[B]eq is effectively the same as the initial
[B] because they do not ionize very much

Lastly, we can substitute the equilibrium

concentrations into the expression for Kb
and calculate its value

Percent Ionization of a Weak Base

We can quantify the ionization of a Find the percent ionization of a 2.5 M HNO2 solution. (Ka = 4.6 x 10-4)
weak base the same way we did for a
weak acid

The concentration of ionized base is

equal to the OH- concentration at
equilibrium so we use that value for
our concentration of ionized base