CIE Chemistry Unit 7

1. pH V01 0813

By the end of this lesson, I will be able to :

(a) explain the terms pH, Ka, pKa, Kw and use them in
calculations
(b) calculate [H+(aq)] and pH values for strong and weak acids
and strong bases
What is the difference between a

i) strong and weak acid

ii) concentrated and dilute acid ?

Strong and Weak Acids
The strength of an acid : the proportion of
which has reacted with water to produce ions.

Cf concentration
How much of the original acid is dissolved in
the solution.
Do you remember the relationship between
- an acid and its conjugate base
- a base and its conjugate acid ?
a strong acid has a weak conjugate base
a weak acid has a strong conjugate base
Strong acids :
Equilibrium position lies well to the right
Most of the acid is ionised.

Write the equation for the dissociation of

hydrochloric acid in water.
At any one time, virtually 100% of the hydrogen
chloride will have reacted to produce oxonium ions
and chloride ions.
A weak acid doesn't ionise fully when it is dissolved
in water.
Ethanoic acid reacts with water to produce oxonium
ions and ethanoate ions, but the position of
equilibrium is well to the left.

Write the equation for the dissociation of

ethanoic acid in water.
At any one time, only about 1% of the ethanoic
acid molecules have converted into ions. The
rest remain as simple ethanoic acid molecules.
pH
and

What is pH ?
 The p stands for ‘potens’, latin for power, so pH is a measure
of the power of H+ (aq) in solution (ie: its concentration)

pH
a measure of the concentration of hydrogen ions in a
solution.
The lower the pH, the higher the concentration of
hydrogen ions in the solution.

Strong acids like hydrochloric acid used in the lab

have a pH around 0 to 1.
Definition of pH
pH of Strong Acids
work out the pH of 0.1 mol dm-3 hydrochloric
acid.
Hydrochloric acid is a strong acid - virtually 100%
ionised. Each mole of HCl reacts with the water to
give 1 mole of hydrogen ions and 1 mole of chloride
ions
That means that if the concentration of the acid is
0.1 mol dm-3, then the concentration of hydrogen
ions is also 0.1 mol dm-3.

log10 [0.1] = -1
But pH = - log10 [0.1]
- (-1) = 1
The pH of this acid is 1.
 Work out the pH of

a) 0.01 mol dm-3 solution of a strong acid HA

b) 1 mol dm-3 solution of a strong acid HA

 Work out the pH of

a) 0.01 mol dm-3 solution of a strong acid HA

[H+(aq)] = 0.01 mol dm-3

pH = -log(0.01) = 2

b) 1 mol dm-3 solution of a strong acid HA

[H+(aq)] = 1 mol dm-3

pH = -log(1) = 0
pH of Weak Acids
pH calculation for weak acids is not so
straightforward.

Why ?
What do we need to know in order to
calculate pH ?

and
Need to know [H+],

In order to calculate this,

we need to know the extent of dissociation,
ie: the position of equilibrium.
The acid dissociation constant, Ka
An equilibrium constant - tells the position of
an equilibrium.
The lower the value, the more the equilibrium
lies to the left.

or
Write an expression for Ka for the following
equation :
Cumbersome numbers and so are often
converted into a more convenient form : pKa
What do you think is the relationship
between Ka and pKa ?
pKa bears exactly the same relationship to
Ka as pH does to the hydrogen ion
concentration:
Calculate pKa for the following :
Remember this:
•The lower the value for pKa, the stronger the acid.
•The higher the value for pKa, the weaker the acid.
pH of weak acids
Calculating pH from Ka

Two assumptions needed : Insignificant compared

to amount of ionisation
of the acid.
1) [H+ (aq)
] = [A -
]
(aq)

(this ignores the ionisation of water)

2) The amount of HA at equilibrium is equal to

the amount of HA put into solution.

(this ignores the fraction of HA which

has lost H+) Because we are dealing with weak
acids, this fraction is very small.
 The Ka equation is therefore reduced to :

Ka = [H+ (aq)]2
[HA (aq)]

1) Rearrange the equation to Calculate [H+ (aq)]

2) Use the value of [H+ (aq)] to calculate pH.
Calculate the pH for ethanoic acid solutions
at 298K with concentrations of:

a) 1 mol dm-3
b) 0.01 mol dm-3

Ka(ethanoic acid) = 1.7 X 10-5 mol dm-3 at 298K

Summary

The pH value depends on acid strength and

concentration.

pKa is the actual measure of acid strength

because it relates directly to the degree of
ionisation.
Ionisation of Water
Water ionises slightly (behaves both as an
acid and a base)

H 2O (l)
H+ (aq)
+ OH- (aq)

Ka = [H+(aq)] [OH-(aq)]
[H2O(l)]
Water ionises slightly (behaves both as an
acid and a base)

H 2O (l)
H+ (aq)
+ OH- (aq)

Ka = [H+(aq)] [OH-(aq)]
[H2O(l)]

But water is present in excess, so the

expression becomes :

Kw = [H+(aq)] [OH-(aq)]

The ionic product of water

Calculate the pH of pure water
pH of pure water = 7.0

This is true only at 298K.

Ionisation of water is endothermic, hence Kw
will increase with increasing temperature,
so increasing [H+] means that the pH of water
will fall as it gets hotter.
pH of Strong Bases
Kw enables us to calculate the pH of strong
bases.

NaOH is completely ionised in water.

So in 0.1 mol dm-3 NaOH(aq),

[OH-(aq)] = 0.1 mol dm-3

Neglect the small amount of OH- from water,

NaOH Na+ + OH-

Calculate the pH of 0.1 mol dm-3 NaOH(aq)
Kw = [H+(aq)] [OH-(aq)]

[OH-(aq)] = 0.1 mol dm-3

Kw = 1 X 10-14 mol2 dm-6 = [H+(aq)] X 0.1 mol dm-3

Therefore [H+(aq)] = 1 X 10-13 mol dm-3

pH 13
PLENARY
Homework

1) Revise everything learnt today.

2) Worksheet