Problem Set: Acid-Base Equilibria

1. The substance H2SO3 is considered

A. a weak Arrhenius base.
B. a strong Arrhenius acid.
C. a strong Arrhenius base.
D. a neutral compound.
E. a weak Arrhenius acid.
2. The substance HOBr is considered
A. a weak Arrhenius acid.
B. a weak Arrhenius base.
C. a strong Arrhenius acid.
D. a strong Arrhenius base.
E. a neutral compound.
3. The substance HCl is considered
A. a weak Arrhenius acid.
B. a weak Arrhenius base.
C. a strong Arrhenius acid.
D. a strong Arrhenius base.
E. a neutral compound.
4. The substance Ba(OH)2 is considered
A. a weak Arrhenius acid.
B. a weak Arrhenius base.
C. a strong Arrhenius acid.
D. a strong Arrhenius base.
E. a neutral compound.
5. The substance Ca(OH)2 is considered
A. a weak Arrhenius acid.
B. a weak Arrhenius base.
C. a strong Arrhenius acid.
D. a strong Arrhenius base.
E. a neutral compound.
6. The substance NaNO3 is considered
A. a weak Arrhenius acid.
B. a weak Arrhenius base.
C. a strong Arrhenius acid.
D. a strong Arrhenius base.
E. a neutral compound.
7. Which, if any, of the following acids is strong?
A. phosphoric
B. carbonic
C. acetic
D. water
E. none of these choices is correct
8. Which one of the following is a strong acid?
 A. H2CO3
B. H2SO3
C. H2SO4
D. H3PO4
E. CH3COOH
9. Which one of the following will give a solution with a pH > 7, but is not an Arrhenius base in the strict
sense?
A. CH3NH2
B. NaOH
C. CO2
D. Ca(OH)2
E. CH 4

10. The substance NH3 is considered

A. a weak acid.
B. a weak base.
C. a strong acid.
D. a strong base.
E. a neutral compound.
11. The substance (CH3CH2)2NH is considered
A. a weak acid.
B. a weak base.
C. a strong acid.
D. a strong base.
E. a neutral compound.
12. The substance HClO4 is considered
A. a weak acid.
B. a weak base.
C. a strong acid.
D. a strong base.
E. a neutral compound.
13. Which of the following is the strongest acid?
A. CH3COOH
B. HF
C. H3PO4
D. H2SO3
E. HI
14. Which of the following is the strongest base?
A. CH3NH2
B. NaNO3
C. B(OH)3
D. Al(OH)3
E. LiOH
15. Which of the following pairs has the stronger acid listed first?
A. HBr, HI
B. HClO2, HClO3
C. H2SeO4, H2SeO3
D. HNO2, HNO3
 E. HF, HCl
16. Which of the following pairs has the stronger acid listed first?
A. H2AsO3, H2AsO4
B. HI, HBr
C. HClO, HClO3
D. H2S, HCl
E. H2SO3 , H2SO4
17. Which of the following acids has the lowest pH?

0.1 M HBO, pKa = 2.43

0.1 M HA, pKa = 4.55
0.1 M HMO, pKa = 8.23
0.1 M HST, pKa = 11.89
pure water
A. HA
B. HST
C. HMO
D. HBO
E. pure water
18. Which of the following liquids contains the strongest acid?

0.1 M HA, pH = 6.85

0.1 M HD, pH = 7.22
0.1 M HE, pH = 8.34
0.1 M HJ, pH = 11.88
pure water
A. HE
B. HA
C. HJ
D. HD
E. pure water
19. What is the pH of a 0.20 M HCl solution?
A. <0
B. 0.70
C. 1.61
D. 12.39
E. 13.30
20. What is the pH of a 0.75 M HNO3 solution?
A. 0.12
B. 0.29
C. 0.63
D. 0.82
E. > 1.0
21. What is the pH of a 0.00200 M HClO4 solution?
A. 0.995
B. 1.378
C. 2.699
 D. 6.215
E. none of these choices is correct
22. What is the pH of a 0.050 M HBr solution?
A. 0.89
B. 1.12
C. 1.30
D. 3.00
E. none of these choices is correct
23. What is the pH of a 0.050 M LiOH solution?
A. < 1.0
B. 1.30
C. 3.00
D. 11.00
E. 12.70
24. What is the pH of a 0.0035 M KOH solution?
A. 2.46
B. 5.65
C. 8.35
D. 11.54
E. none of these choices is correct
25. What is the pH of a 0.0125 M NaOH solution?
A. 0.972
B. 1.903
C. 12.097
D. 13.028
E. none of these choices is correct
26. What is the pOH of a 0.0250 M HI solution?
A. 0.944
B. 1.602
C. 12.398
D. 13.056
E. none of these choices is correct
27. What is the pOH of a 0.0085 M KOH solution?
A. 2.07
B. 4.77
C. 9.23
D. 11.93
E. none of these choices is correct
28. What is the [OH-] for a solution at 25°C that has [H3O+] = 2.35 × 10-3 M?
A. 4.26 × 10-5 M
B. 2.35 × 10-11 M
C. 4.26 × 10-12 M
D. 2.35 × 10-17 M
E. none of these choices is correct
29. What is the [OH-] for a solution at 25°C that has [H3O+] = 8.23 × 10-2 M?
A. > 10-5 M
 B. 1.22 × 10-6 M
C. 8.23 × 10-12 M
D. 1.22 × 10-13 M
E. 8.23 × 10-16 M
30. What is the [OH-] for a solution at 25°C that has pH = 4.29?
A. 1.4 × 10-2 M
B. 5.l × 10-5 M
C. 1.9 × 10-10 M
D. 7.3 × 10-13 M
E. 9.71 M
31. What is the [H3O+] for a solution at 25°C that has pOH = 5.640?
A. 2.34 × 10-4 M
B. 2.29 × 10-6 M
C. 4.37 × 10-9 M
D. 4.27 × 10-11 M
E. 8.360 M
32. Select the pair of substances in which an acid is listed followed by its conjugate base.
A. H+, HCl
B. NH3, NH4+
C. HPO42-, H2PO4-
D. HCO3-, CO32-
E. CH3COOH, CH3COOH +
2

33. Select the pair of substances which is not a conjugate acid-base pair.
A. H3O+, H2O
B. HNO2, NO2-
C. H2SO4, HSO4-
D. H2S, S2-
E. NH3, NH2-
34. Which one of the following pairs is not a conjugate acid-base pair?
A. H2O/OH-
B. H2O2/HO2-
C. OH-/O2--
D. H2PO4 /HPO42-
E. HCl/H+
35. According to Brønsted and Lowry, which one of the following is not a conjugate acid-base pair?
A. H3O+/OH-
B. CH3OH2+/CH3OH
C. HI/I- -
D. HSO4 /SO42-
E. H2/H-
36. The acid dissociation constant Ka equals 1.26 × 10-2 for HSO4- and is 5.6 × 10-10 for NH4+. Which
statement about the following equilibrium is correct?

HSO4-(aq) + NH3(aq) SO42-(aq) + NH4+(aq)

A. The reactants will be favored because ammonia is a stronger base than the sulfate anion.
B. The products will be favored because the hydrogen sulfate ion is a stronger acid than the
ammonium ion.
 C. Neither reactants or products will be favored because all of the species are weak acids or
bases.
D. The initial concentrations of the hydrogen sulfate ion and ammonia must be known before
any prediction can be made.
E. This reaction is impossible to predict, since the strong acid and the weak base appear on the
same side of the equation.
37. A student adds 0.1 mol of oxalic acid and 0.1 mol of sodium dihydrogen phosphate to enough water to
make 1.0 L of solution. The following equilibrium is established with the concentrations of the products
greater than the concentrations of the reactants. Which of the statements about the equilibrium system is
correct?

H2C2O4(aq) + H2PO4-(aq) HC2O4-(aq) + H3PO4(aq)

A. Oxalic acid is a weaker acid than phosphoric acid.
B. The hydrogen oxalate anion, HC2O4-, is a stronger base than the dihydrogen phosphate anion,
H2PO4-.
C. Phosphoric acid is a weaker acid than oxalic acid.
D. The dihydrogen phosphate anion, H2PO4-, is a stronger acid than oxalic acid.
E. Water is a stronger acid than either oxalic or phosphoric acids.
38. Aqueous solutions of phosphoric acid and sodium nitrite are combined, and the following equilibrium is
established.

H3PO4(aq) + NO2-(aq) H2PO4-(aq) + HNO2(aq)

The equilibrium constant Kc for this reaction is greater than one. Based on this information, which of the
following statements is correct?
A. Phosphoric acid is a weaker acid than nitrous acid.
B. Nitrous acid is a weaker acid than water.
C. The nitrite anion is a weaker base than the dihydrogen phosphate anion.
D. The dihydrogen phosphate anion is a stronger acid than nitrous acid.
E. Phosphoric acid is a stronger acid than nitrous acid.
39. Butyric acid is responsible for the odor in rancid butter. A solution of 0.25 M butyric acid has a pH of 2.71.
What is the Ka for the acid?
A. 0.36
B. 2.4 × 10-2
C. 7.8 × 10-3
D. 1.5 × 10-5
E. none of these choices is correct
40. A 0.15 M solution of chloroacetic acid has a pH of 1.86. What is the value of Ka for this acid?
A. 7.2 × 101
B. 0.16
C. 0.099
D. 0.0014
E. 0.00027
41. A 0.050 M solution of the weak acid HA has [H3O+] = 3.77 × 10-4 M. What is the Ka for the acid?
A. 7.5 × 10-3 M
B. 2.8 × 10-6 M
C. 7.0 × 10-7 M
D. 7.0 × 10-8 M
 E. 2.6 × 10-11 M
42. Formic acid, which is a component of insect venom, has a Ka = 1.8 × 10-4. What is the [H3O+] in a solution
that is initially 0.10 M formic acid, HCOOH?
A. 4.2 × 10-3 M
B. 8.4 × 10-3 M
C. 1.8 × 10-4 M
D. 1.8 × 10-5 M
E. 1.8 × 10-6 M
43. Picric acid has been used in the leather industry and in etching copper. However, its laboratory use has
been restricted because it dehydrates on standing and can become shock sensitive. It has an acid
dissociation constant of 0.42. What is the [H3O+] for a 0.20 M solution of picric acid?
A. 0.022 M
B. 0.052 M
C. 0.15 M
D. 0.29 M
E. none of these choices is correct
44. Lactic acid has a pKa of 3.08. What is the approximate degree of dissociation of a 0.35 M solution of lactic
acid?
A. 1.1%
B. 2.2%
C. 4.8%
D. 14%
E. none of these choices is correct
45. A 1.25 M solution of the weak acid HA is 9.2% dissociated. What is the pH of the solution?
A. 0.64
B. 0.94
C. 1.13
D. 2.16
E. none of these choices is correct
46. Farmers who raise cotton once used arsenic acid, H3AsO4, as a defoliant at harvest time. Arsenic acid is a
polyprotic acid with K1 = 2.5 × 10-4, K2 = 5.6 × 10-8, and K3 = 3 × 10-13. What is the pH of a 0.500 M
solution of arsenic acid?
A. 0.85
B. 1.96
C. 3.90
D. 4.51
E. none of these choices is correct
47. Arsenic acid, H3AsO4, is used industrially to manufacture insecticides. Arsenic acid is a polyprotic acid
with K1 = 2.5 × 10-4, K2 = 5.6 × 10-8, and K3 = 3 × 10-13. What is the concentration of the HAsO42- in a
solution whose initial arsenic acid concentration was 0.35 M?
A. 9.4 × 10-3 M
B. 2.5 × 10-4 M
C. 8.8 × 10-5 M
D. 5.6 × 10-8 M
E. none of these choices is correct
48. What is the pH of a 0.050 M triethylamine, (C2H5)3N, solution?
Kb for triethylamine is 5.3 × 10-4.
 A. 11.69
B. 8.68
C. 5.32
D. 2.31
E. < 2.0
49. Hydroxylamine, HONH2, readily forms salts such as hydroxylamine hydrochloride which are used as
antioxidants in soaps. Hydroxylamine has Kb of 9.1 × 10-9. What is the pH of a 0.025 M HONH2 solution?
A. 2.90
B. 4.82
C. 9.18
D. 9.91
E. 11.10
50. What is the value of Kb for the formate anion, HCOO-?
Ka(HCOOH) = 2.1 × 10-4
A. -2.1 × 10-4
B. 2.1 × 10-4
C. 6.9 × 10-6
D. 4.8 × 10-11
E. 2.1 × 10-18