DETERMINATION OF THE SOLUBILITY PRODUCT

CONSTANT OF CALCIUM HYDROXIDE

M. DE LEON1
1National Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, College of Science
University of the Philippines Diliman, Quezon City 1101, Philippines
Date Submitted: 28 February 2019
Date Performed: 21 February 2019

ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS

1. Describe what is happening during the establishment of the equilibrium dissociation

of Ca(OH)2. Elaborate on the meaning and significance of the solubility product
constant (Ksp) and molar solubility (s)
The solubility product constant (Ksp) is the equilibrium between a solid and its respective ions
in a solution. The value of the constant identifies the degree of which the compound can
dissociate in water. For example, the higher the Ksp, the more soluble the compound is. Ksp is
defined in terms of activity rather than concentration because it is a measure of a
concentration that depends on certain conditions such as temperature, pressure, and
composition. It is influenced by surroundings. This is used to describe the saturated solution of
ionic compounds. (A saturated solution is when there is a state of equilibrium between the
dissolved, dissociated, undissolved solid, and the ionic compound) [1].

There is a relationship between the solute's molarity and the solubility of the ions because Ksp is
literally the product of the solubility of each ion in terms of molarity. For example, if one
wanted to find the Ksp of a slightly soluble compound from its solubility, he would first have to
make sure to correctly convert the (mass/ some volume) to (mols/liters) to find the molarity of
each ion. After that, he can find the molarity of each ion (molar solubility) we can plug these
numbers into the Ksp formula which is the product of the solubility of each ion [2].

2. What is the Ksp expression for Ca(OH)2, how was the Ksp determined through the
experiment conducted. What about s.
The net ionic reaction for the precipitation of Ca(OH)2 can be expressed as,

Ca(OH)2 (s) ⇌Ca 2+ + 2OH –

For this equation, the Ksp expression of the reaction is,

Ksp = [Ca 2+ ] [OH - ] 2 (1)

The working equation for the determination of the [Ca + ] in the saturated solution of Ca(OH)2
can be represented by,
[Ca 2+ ] = [OH−]/2
or
[Ca 2+ ] = [((V titrant) [H+])/(Vi analyte)]/2
 The Ksp of Ca(OH)2 written in terms of its molar solubility is [3],
Ksp = 4s3
in terms of [OH ],
-

4([OH- ]/2) 3
and in terms of [Ca ]
2+

4[Ca2+ ] 3

3. After presenting your experimental results (Ksp and s) for the different equilibrium
systems examined, Discuss the effects of common ions and increasing ionic strength
on the solubility of the Ca(OH)2 precipitate. Do they coincide with what was expected
from theory? Explain.
a. Common ions and ionic strength both have effects on the solubility of the
precipitate of a salt like Ca(OH)2. Common ions have been observed to increase the
solubility, which shifts the reaction towards the reactant side. This can be
explained by Le Chatelier’s principle wherein the addition of common ions pushes
the reaction to regain equilibrium by converting the newly added ions into the
original precipitate [4]. An increase in ionic strength also increased the solubility of
the solution. This is because one of the factors of the measure of ionic strength is
the concentration of the ions of the reactants. The higher the concentration of the
ions of the reactants, the higher the solubility of the reaction would be because
more moles of reactant would be able to react with each other [5]. In the data, the
solubility increased; this may be brought about by random error which is made by
wrong measurement of molarity, excessive titration, and contaminated glassware,
among others. Since Ionic strength is the measure of ion concentration, higher
values mean higher solubility. The results have coincided with the theoretical ones
in ionic strength.

4. What are the possible sources of errors and their effect on the calculated parameters?
Rationalize
Possible sources of errors are improper measurement of the reagents. If the concentrations of
the reagents are not accurate, then it will change the results obtained since it depends upon
the concentration of the substance. Another source of error may have been from the
preparation of the sodium carbonate suspension. The suspension may not have been saturated
enough before an analyte was measured out of it [6]. This will result to lesser Ksp than the
theoretical. Another possible source of error is the error in weighing the primary standard.
This would have a domino effect that would first affect the average molarity of the stock HCl
that would be prepared. This would then mess up all the other values in the following steps, as
the values that resulted from the wrong molarity of the HCl would be different from the
theoretical set up. Last possible cause would have been from the titration process. Improper
way of titrating, wrong measurement of the used volume of titrant etc., will all lead to a gross
error on the calculation of the [OH - ] and may cause failure of the experiment.

REFERENCES

[1] Relating Solubility and Ksp. https://resources.saylor.org/wwwresources/archived/site/wp-

content/uploads/2012/07/Relating-Solubility-and-Ksp.pdf (accessed Feb 27, 2019).
[2] Harris, D. Quantitative Chemical Analysis 8th ed. 2010. Madison Avenue, NY: W.H. Freeman
and Company.
[3] Zumdahl, Steven S., and Susan A. Zumdahl. Chemistry. Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole, Cengage
Learning, 2014.
[4] Brown, Theodore L., H. Eugene LeMay, and Bruce Edward. Bursten. Chemistry: The Central
Science. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2000.
[5] Chang, Raymond, and Kenneth A. Goldsby. Chemistry. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2013.
[6] Petrucci, Ralph H., and William S. Harwood. General Chemistry: Principles and Modern
Applications. 8th ed. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 2002.
APPENDIX A APPENDIX B

Sample calculations: Standardization of Hydrochloric Acid

Trial 1 2 3
Trial 1 and 2 of Determination of Ksp and Weight,
Solubility of Ca(OH)2 g 0.1 0.1 0.1
Vf,mL 14.9 24 31.85
[OH- ] =(0.10Mx0.15mL)/50 = M2= 0.0003M
Vi, mL 6.2 15.6 24
[Ca2+] = 0.0003 M/2 = 0.00015 M Vnet,
mL 8.7 8.4 7.85
Solubility of Ca(OH)2 = s = [Ca2+] = M 0.000107894 0.000111748 0.00012
0.00015M Average M 0.000113073

Ksp of Ca(OH)2 = Ksp =4s3 = 4 * .000153 =

1.35E -11 Determination of Ksp and Solubility of
Ca(OH)2
Determination of Ksp and solubility of Filtrate,
Ca(OH)2 mL 50 50 50
HCl, mL 0.15 0.1 0.05
Average solubility = (s1 + s2 + s3)/3 = [OH] 0.0003 0.0002 0.0001
(0.00015 + 0.0001 + 0.00005)/3 = 0.0001
[Ca] 0.00015 0.0001 0.00005
Percent Error = (6E -12 – 6.5E -06)/ 6.5E - s 0.00015 0.0001 0.00005
06 * 100% = 99.99990769 % Ksp 1.35E-11 4E-12 5E-13
s, X bar 0.0001
Standardization of Hydrochloric Acid
Solution of Trial 1 Ksp, X
bar 6E-12
Ksp,
[HCl]= (weight of primary standard * (%
Theo. 0.0000065
purity) * (formula mass) )/ Vnet
% Error 99.99990769
(0.1 * 0.995 * (1/106) ) / 8.7 = 0.000107894
M
Effect of Common Ions on the Solubility of
Ionic Strength of 0.01 M KCl solution Ca(OH)2
Filtrate,
𝜇 = 0.5 * ∑𝐶𝑖𝑍𝑖2 mL 50 50 50
HCl, mL 0.2 0.1 0.1
Let C= concentration, Z= charge of the ion [OH] 0.0004 0.0002 0.0002
[Ca] 0.0002 0.0001 0.0001
= = 0.5 * ((0.01)(1)2 + (0.01)(−1)2 )
=0.01 s 0.0002 0.0001 0.0001
Ksp 3.2E-11 4E-12 4E-12
s, X bar 0.000133333
Ksp, X
bar 1.33333E-11
Solubility of Ca(OH)2 in 0.010 M KCl
Filtrate,
mL 50 20 20
HCl, mL 0.1 0.1 0.1
[OH] 0.00002 0.00005 0.00005
[Ca] 0.00001 0.000025 0.000025
s 0.00001 0.000025 0.000025
Ksp 4E-15 6.25E-14 6.25E-14
s, X bar 0.00002
Ksp, X
bar 4.3E-14
Solubility of Ca(OH)2 in 0.25 M KCl
Solubility of Ca(OH)2 in 0.050 M KCl Filtrate,
Filtrate, mL 50 50 50
mL 50 50 50 HCl, mL 0.95 0.25 0.4
HCl, mL 0.1 0.1 0.2 [OH] 0.00475 0.00125 0.002
[OH] 0.0001 0.0001 0.0002 [Ca] 0.002375 0.000625 0.001
[Ca] 0.00005 0.00005 0.0001 s 0.002375 0.000625 0.001
s 0.00005 0.00005 0.0001 5.35859E-
Ksp
Ksp 5E-13 5E-13 4E-12 08 9.76563E-10 4E-09
6.66667E- s, X bar 0.001333333
s, X bar
05 Ksp, X
Ksp, X 1.66667E- bar 1.95208E-08
bar 12

Solubility of Ca(OH)2 in 0. 50 M KCl

Filtrate,
Solubility of Ca(OH)2 in 0.10 M KCl mL 50 50 50 50
Filtrate,
mL 50 50 50 HCl, mL 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.15
HCl, mL 0.2 0.1 0.1 [OH] 0.003 0.002 0.002 0.0015
[OH] 0.0004 0.0002 0.0002 [Ca] 0.0015 0.001 0.001 0.00075
[Ca] 0.0002 0.0001 0.0001 s 0.0015 0.001 0.001 0.00075
s 0.0002 0.0001 0.0001 1.69E-
Ksp
1.35E-08 0.000000004 4E-09 09
Ksp 3.2E-11 4E-12 4E-12
s, X bar 0.0010625
s, X bar 0.000133333
Ksp, X
Ksp, X bar 5.79688E-09
bar 1.33333E-11
Ionic Strength
[KCl] Solubility Ionic Strength

0.01 4.3E-14 0.01

0.05 1.66667E-12 0.05
0.1 1.33333E-11 0.1
0.25 1.95208E-08 0.25
0.5 5.79688E-09 0.5