Acid/Base Properties of Salt Solutions
Salts Ionic compounds When dissolved in water, salts may behave as acids, bases
Neutral Salts Salts that consist of the cations of a strong base and the anions of a strong acid, will be neutral (pH = 7) in water NaCl in water KCl in water NaNO 3 in water
Basic Salts Salts that consist of the anions of a weak acid will produce basic solutions in water ex. NaC 2 H 3 O 2
NaC 2 H 3 O 2 in water Na + is always soluble, so it would be a spectator and not part of the reaction C 2 H 3 O H 2 O → HC 2 H 3 O 2 + OH - On the reactant side, C 2 H 3 O 2 - is a base so it has a K b On the product side, HC 2 H 3 O 2 is an acid so it has a K a
Relationship Between K a and K b K a x K b = K w pK = - log K pK a + pK b = 14.00
Example Calculate the K b for the F - ion if the K a for its conjugate acid is 7.2x10 -4.
Example Calculate the pH of a.30M NaF solution. The K a for HF is 7.2x10 -4.
Acidic Salts Salts in which the cation is the conjugate acid of a weak base
Example Calculate the K a for the ammonium ion, NH 4 +, if the K b for NH 3 is 1.8 x Calculate the pH of a 0.10M NH 4 Cl solution.