ACID-BASE EQUILIBRIA

Faye Marion C. Sebastian, RCh

BRØNSTED-LOWRY ACIDS
AND BASES
Brønsted-Lowry Acids and Bases
• An acid is a substance that can donate a proton
(H+)
• A base is a substance that accepts a proton (H+)

HCl + H2O  Cl- + H3O+

NH3 + H2O  NH4+ + OH-
THE pH SCALE &
THE ACID-BASE PROPERTIES OF
WATER
Water: an Amphiprotic/Amphoteric
Substance
• Water can act as an acid and base
H2O + H2O ↔ H3O+ + OH-
H2O ↔ H+ + OH-

KW = [H3O+][OH-] or Kw = [H+][OH-]
 ACID BASE NEUTRAL

[H+] or [H3O+] >1 x 10-7 <1 x 10-7 1 x 10-7

[OH-] <1 x 10-7 >1 x 10-7 1 x 10-7

pH = -log[H+] = -log[H3O+]
pKw = pH + pOH
14 = pH + pOH
Example:
What is the pH of the blood if its [H +] is 3.50 x 10-8?
Is the blood acidic or alkaline? What is the pOH and
[OH-] of the blood?
STRENGTH OF ACIDS AND
BASES
Strong and Weak Acids and Bases
• A strong acid or base completely dissociates in
water; while
• A weak acid or base does not completely
dissociates in water.
HX(aq) + H2O ↔ H+(aq) + X-(aq)
 STRONG ACIDS AND BASES
Acids Bases
HCl LiOH
HBr NaOH
HI KOH
HNO3 RbOH
H2SO4 CsOH
HClO3 Mg(OH)2
HClO4 Ca(OH)2
Sr(OH)2
Ba(OH)2
COMMON ION EFFECT
Common Ion Effect
• Describes the effect on a reaction at equilibrium
when an ion is added to the solution which is
common to a solute present in solution.
In the reaction:
PbCl2 (s) ↔ Pb2+(aq) + Cl-(aq)
if NaCl is added (which has Cl- as its common
ion), the reaction will shift to the left (which
causes precipitation of PbCl2 (s).
BUFFERS
Buffers
• Maintains the pH of a solution even if small
amounts of acids and bases are added into the
solution.
• Made up of a weak acid (or base, AKA acid
buffer) and its conjugate base (or acid, AKA base
buffer)
Henderson-Hasselbalch Equation
• The pH of the buffer may be determined using the
Henderson-Hasselbalch Equation with the
formula:
pH = or pOH =
SOLUBILITY EQUILIBRIA
Solubility of Salts
• The solubility of salts in water is determined by
the solubility product constant or Ksp.
↑solubilitysalt, ↑Ksp

• Solubility and its relation to the common ion

effect:
↑[ions], ↑Qsp (ion product)
Solubility of Salts
If…
Ksp > Qsp, no precipitation occurs
Ksp < Qsp, precipitation takes place

Example:
If KspAgCl = 1.77 x 10-10 and upon addition of NaCl
results to a value of Qsp = 4.6 x 10-9, will a
precipitate form?
ELECTROCHEMISTRY
Faye Marion C. Sebastian, RCh