CHEM 1442

Chapter 16: Aqueous Equilibria

16.1 The Common Ion Effect
 Common Ion- an ion in solution that comes from two different sources.
 The Common Ion Effect- the presence of a common ion represses ionization of a weak electrolyte. It is
an application of Le Chatelier’s Principle.

16.2 Buffer Solutions

 Buffer Solution- a solution that resists changes in pH when a small amount of an acid or base is added.
o A buffer solution contains a weak conjugate acid-base pair, such as HA and A-.
 If a strong acid is added to the solution, the weak base consumes it.
 If a strong base is added, the weak acid consumes it.
o There are three ways that buffers can be prepared:
 By mixing a weak acid or base with its salt.
 By mixing a weak acid with approximately half as much strong base.
 By mixing a weak base with approximately half as much strong acid.
 The pH of a buffer can be determined with the Henderson-Hasselbalch Equation:

[base ]
pH= p K a + log
[acid]

 Buffer Capacity- the amount of acid or base that can be added to a buffer before its buffering ability is
degraded.
o Buffer Range is plus or minus one pH units from the pKa value.

16.3 Acid-Base Titrations

 An acid-base titration is a neutralization reaction, where an acid and base react to form a salt and water.
 In a titration, either the acid or the base is a standardized solution, which is the solution with a known
concentration. This can be used to find the concentration of the other solution.
 Remember the titration terms:
o Titrant- a solution of known concentration added to the analyte.
o Analyte- the substance with unknown concentration.
o Equivalence Point- point when the moles of titrant added and the moles of analyte are
chemically equivalent.
o Endpoint- the point when a reaction is assumed complete, usually shown by an indicator.
 The pH at any point in a titration can be determined by writing the chemical equation for the reaction
that occurs and then using a BCA table to determine the quantities remaining after the reaction. This
is then followed by an equilibrium calculation when weak species are present.
 A pH curve is a plot of the solution as a function of the amount of titrant added.
16.4 The Solubility Product Constant ( K ) sp

 Sparingly Soluble Salts- ionic compounds with low solubilities, which were classified as insoluble in
chapter 4.
o Only a very small amount of a sparingly soluble salt saturates their solutions in water.
o Like in all solutions, the salts then exist in equilibrium between undissolved solid and their
dissociated ions in the solution.
 Their equilibrium constant is called the solubility-product constant, K sp .
 It is calculated from the product of the concentrations of the dissociated ions in
the solution to the power of their respective coefficients (since the only
reactants are the solid salt and liquid water, both of which are omitted from
equilibrium constant calculations.)
 The molar solubility( Sm) of a substance is it’s solubility expressed in Molarity. Can be found through an
ICE table.
o K sp can be found from experimental data. When K sp is known, we can find Sm, both in pure
water and in the presence of a common ion.
 The solubility of many sparingly soluble salts changes with pH. In order to determine if the pH of the
solution will affect solubility, focus on the anion:
o If the anion comes from a strong acid, it is a spectator ion in acid-base reactions.
o If the anion is the conjugate base of a weak acid, the salt will become more soluble as pH is
lowered.
o If two solutions containing the ions of a sparingly soluble salt are mixed, the Q sp value of the
mixture can be compared to K sp to determine if precipitation will occur.
 If Q sp < K sp, the solution is unsaturated, and no precipitation occurs.
 If Q sp > K sp,the is supersaturated, and precipitation occurs.
 If Q sp=K sp, the solution is saturated, and no net change occurs.