The answer is B charged particles
Answer:
pH =3.8
Explanation:
Lets call the monoprotic weak acid HA, the dissociation equilibria in water will be:
HA + H₂O ⇄ H₃O⁺ + A⁻ with Ka = [ H₃O⁺] x [A⁻]/ [HA]
The pH is the negative log of the H₃O⁺ concentration, we know the equilibrium constant, Ka and the original acid concentration. So we will need to find the [H₃O⁺] to solve this question.
In order to do that lets set up the ICE table helper which accounts for the species at equilibrium:
HA H₃O⁺ A⁻
Initial, M 0.40 0 0
Change , M -x +x +x
Equilibrium, M 0.40 - x x x
Lets express these concentrations in terms of the equilibrium constant:
Ka = x² / (0.40 - x )
Now the equilibrium constant is so small ( very little dissociation of HA ) that is safe to approximate 0.40 - x to 0.40,
7.3 x 10⁻⁶ = x² / 0.40 ⇒ x = √( 7.3 x 10⁻⁶ x 0.40 ) = 1.71 x 10⁻³
[H₃O⁺] = 1.71 x 10⁻³
Indeed 1.71 x 10⁻³ is small compared to 0.40 (0.4 %). To be a good approximation our value should be less or equal to 5 %.
pH = - log ( 1.71 x 10⁻³ ) = 3.8
Note: when the aprroximation is greater than 5 % we will need to solve the resulting quadratic equation.
The way you calculate the empirical formula is to firstly assume 100g. To find each elements moles you take each elements percentage listed, times it by one mole and divide it by its atomic mass. (ex: moles of K =55.3g x 1 mole/39.1g, therefore there is 1.41432225 moles of Potassium) Once you’ve completed this for every element you list each elements symbol beside it’s number of moles and divide by the smallest number because it can only go into its self once. After you’ve done this, you’ve found your empirical formula, which is the simplest whole number ratio of atoms in a compound. I’ve added an example of a empirical question I completed last semester :)
