IONIZATION OF

ELECTROLYTES
 OBJECTIVES:

 Define Electrolytes, Strong Electrolytes, Weak

Electrolytes
 Familiarize the formula for dissociation constant.
 Apply and calculate problems related to dissociation.

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 ELECTROLYTES

Substances that give ions when

dissolved in water

Examples: Acids, Bases and Salts

AQUEOUS SOLUTIONS

Solutions in which water is the

dissolving medium

Note: For electrolytes, water is

the most important solvent.
NON-AQUEOUS SOLVENTS

Ethanol
Ammonia
Acetic Acid

They are able to dissolve electrolytes.

STRONG ELECTROLYTES

Completely ionized when dissolved

in water and no neutral molecules
are formed in solution.

Ex:

NaCl (s) → Na+ (aq) + Cl- (aq)

WEAK ELECTROLYTES

Substances whose water solution

contain comparatively few charged
particles or ions
 Importance:
Our body fluids are solutions of
electrolytes
Cations – Calcium, Potassium, Sodium,
Magnesium
Anions – Chlorides, Carbonates, Amino
acetates, Phosphates, Iodides
 WEAK ACID
is an acid that dissociates
incompletely. It does not
release all of its hydrogen in a
solution, donating only a partial
amount of its protons to the
solution.
These acids have higher pKa
than strong acids, which release
all of their hydrogen atoms
when dissolved in water.
 Dissociation

The separation of an electrolyte

into ions of opposite charges.
 Ka

Acid dissociation constant

HA (aq) → H+ (aq) + A- (aq)

Ka = [H+] [A-]
[HA]
 Example

Carbonic Acid

H2CO3 (aq) → H+ (aq) + HCO3- (aq)

Ka = [H+] [HCO3] → Product

[H2CO3] → Reactant
 WEAK BASES

Weak electrolytes which react

slightly with water to produce
hydroxide ions (OH-).
 Kb

Base dissociation constant

Indicates the strength of a base
 Example
When ammonia is added in water

NH3 + H2O → NH4+ + OH-

Kb = [NH4+] [OH-]
[NH3] [H2O]
IONIZATION OF
WATER

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 WATER

 may be considered as electrolyte

since the purest water obtainable
will conduct an electric current to a
measurable extent.

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 most amphoteric substance (can
behave as acid or base)
reacts as either acid or base to
certain anions & cations to form
conjugate acid or base

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 Ionization of Water

Involves the transfer of a proton

from one water molecule to
another to produce a hydroxide
ion and hydronium ion

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H2O + H2O H3O+ + OH-

ke = [H3O+] [OH-]
[H2O]2

kw = [H3O+] [OH-]

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Experiment shows that at 25°C,

[H+] = [OH-] = 1.0 x 10-7 M

Thus,
kw = 1.0 x 10-14
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 Importance:
 It is important to recognize the meaning
of kw. In any aqueous solution at 25°C,
no matter what it contains, the product
of H+ and OH- must always be equal to
1.0 x 10-14. This means that if the [H+]
goes up, the [OH-] must go down so
that the product of the two is still
1.0 x 10-14.

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 a neutral solution, where [H+] = [OH-]
 an acidic solution, where [H+] > [OH-]
 a basic solution, where [H+] < [OH-]

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Calculating Ions in Water

 QUIZ 3 - MIDTERM
 Calculate the [H+] or [OH-] as required for
each of the following solutions at 25°C, and
state whether the solution is neutral, acidic or
basic.
a. 1.0 x 10-5 M OH-
b. 1.0 x 10-7 M OH-
c. 1.0 M H+
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d. 2.4 x 10-5 M H+
2
e. 5 x 10 M OH -

f. 1.5 M H +

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