Acid-Base Equilibria & pH Calculations

Analytical Chemistry

By: Ali Sh. Razzaq

Zainab J. Khudair
 Acid-Base Equilibrium & pH Calculations Analytical Chemistry

Acid – Base Equilibrium

Acid-base reactions, in which protons are exchanged between donor molecules

(acids) and acceptors (bases), form the basis of the most common kinds of
equilibrium problems which you will encounter in almost any application of
chemistry. In order to thoroughly understand the material in this unit, you are
expected to be familiar with the following topics which were covered in
the separate unit Introduction to Acid-Base Chemistry1:

 The Arrhenius concept of acids and bases

 The Brønsted-Lowry concept, conjugate acids and bases
 Strong vs. weak acids and bases
 Definition of pH and the pH scale

Arrhenius Theory
An Arrhenius acid is any species that increases the concentration of H+ in
aqueous solution. An Arrhenius base is any species that increases the
concentration of OH− in aqueous solution2.

Brønsted- Lowry Theory

In the Brønsted-Lowry definition, acids are proton donors, and bases are
proton acceptors. Note that these definitions are interrelated. Defining a base as a
proton acceptor means an acid must be available to provide the proton. For
example, in reaction below acetic acid, CH3COOH, donates a proton to ammonia,
NH3, which serves as the base 3.

CH3COOH(aq) + NH3(aq) ⇌ CH3COO–(aq) + NH4+(aq)

The acetate ion considered as a conjugate base (which is strong because weaker the
acid means stronger the conjugate base), the ammonium ion is the conjugate acid
for the ammonia (the base).

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 Acid-Base Equilibrium & pH Calculations Analytical Chemistry

As you should know from introduction to acids and bases, the +1 electric charge of
the tiny proton (a bare hydrogen nucleus) is contained in such a miniscule volume
of space that the resulting charge density is far too large to enable its independent
existence in solution; it will always attach to, and essentially bury itself in, the non-
bonding orbitals of a solvent. Thus in aqueous solution, what we commonly
represent as the "hydrogen ion" H+ is more accurately described as the hydronium
ion H3O+. 2

Strong and Weak Acids

Acids can be very different in a very important way. Consider HCl(aq). When
HCl is dissolved in H2O, it completely dissociates into H+(aq) and Cl−(aq) ions; all
the HCl molecules become ions:

HCl → H+ (aq) + Cl− (aq) 100%

Any acid that dissociates 100% into ions is called a strong acid. If it does not
dissociate 100%, it is a weak acid. CH3COOH is an example of a weak acid:

CH3COOH ⇌ CH3COO–(aq) + H+ (aq)

As it turns out, there are very few strong acids, which are given in the table below.
If an acid is not listed here, it is a weak acid4.

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 Acid-Base Equilibrium & pH Calculations Analytical Chemistry

Acids Bases
HCl LiOH
HBr NaOH
HI KOH
HNO3 RbOH
H2SO4 CsOH
HClO3 Mg(OH)2
HClO4 Ca(OH)2
Sr(OH)2
Table 1. Strong Acids and Bases

Strong and Weak Bases

The issue is similar with bases, a strong base is a base that is 100% ionized in
solution. If it is less than 100% ionized in solution, it is a weak base. There are
very few strong bases (Table 1) any base not listed is a weak base. All strong bases
are OH– compounds. So a base based on some other mechanism, such as
NH3 (which does not contain OH− ions as part of its formula), will be a weak
base.4

pH Definition

pH is a measure of hydrogen ion concentration, a measure of

the acidity or alkalinity of a solution. The pH scale usually ranges from 0 to
14. Aqueous solutions at 25°C with a pH less than 7 are acidic, while those with a
pH greater than 7 are basic or alkaline. A pH level of 7.0 at 25°C is defined as
"neutral" because the concentration of H3O+ equals the concentration of OH− in
pure water. Very strong acids might have a negative pH, while very strong bases
might have a pH greater than 14.5

The equation for calculating pH was proposed in 1909 by Danish biochemist Søren
Peter Lauritz Sørensen: pH = -log[H+]

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 Acid-Base Equilibrium & pH Calculations Analytical Chemistry

pH Calculations

Before we calculate the pH for aqueous solution we must know the terms:

Ka which is the acid dissociation constant (equilibrium constant) for a reaction in

which an acid donate a proton to the solvent.
Kb which is the base dissociation constant (equilibrium constant) for a reaction in
which a base accept a proton from the solvent.
Kw water’s dissociation constant.

Kw = [H+][OH-] = 1x10-14 at 25°C

[H+] = [OH-] = 1x10-7

To solve the pH problems involves a series of steps:3

1. Write all relevant equilibrium reactions and their equilibrium constant
expressions.
2. Count the number of species whose concentrations appear in the equilibrium
constant expressions; these are your unknowns
3. Decide how accurate your final answer needs to be. This decision will influence
your evaluation of any assumptions you use to simplify the problem.
4. Combine your equations to solve for one unknown (usually the one you are most
interested in knowing). Whenever possible, simplify the algebra by making
appropriate assumptions.

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 Acid-Base Equilibrium & pH Calculations Analytical Chemistry

A- One Substance In The Solution

1- Strong Acid or Strong Base:
When the solution contain just one substance which is strong acid or base, the
equation must be written in ionic style and calculate the pH directly from the
Hydrogen ion concentration (Hydronium ion).

Example1: Find the pH of a 0.03 M solution of hydrochloric acid, HCl.

Solution: there is one substance in this solution which is HCl strong acid, this acid
will completely dissociation in water to form H+ and Cl−.

HCl → H+ (aq) + Cl− (aq)

Initial state 0.03 0 0

Equilibrium 0 0.03 0.03

[H+] = 0.03 M

pH = -log[H+] = 1.5

Example2: Find the pH of a 0.03 M solution of NaOH.

Solution: there is one substance in this solution which is NaOH strong Base, this
base will completely dissociation in water to form OH- and Na+

NaOH → Na+(aq) + OH-(aq)

Initial state 0.03 0 0

Equilibrium 0 0.03 0.03

[OH-] = 0.03 M

pOH = -log[OH-] = 1.5

pH = 14 – pOH = 12.5

Example3: Find the pH of a 1 x 10-7 M solution of hydrochloric acid, HCl.

Solution: there is one substance in this solution which is HCl strong acid, this acid
will completely dissociation in water to form H+ and Cl−,

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 Acid-Base Equilibrium & pH Calculations Analytical Chemistry

HCl → H+ (aq) + Cl− (aq)

Initial state 1 x 10-7 0 0

Equilibrium 0 1 x 10-7 1 x 10-7

The concentration of the Hydrogen ion is very small and the pH (for the Hydrogen
ion from the HCl) will be 7 and this refer to neutral solution but we have an acid in
the solution so we must combine the Hydrogen ion from the acid and water
(common ion) to find the right concentration of H+ (we use common ion just if we
have very small concentration of the acid or base)

H2O ⇌ H+ (aq) + OH-(aq)

Kw = [H+][OH-] = 1x10-14

The [H+] for the solution equal

[H+] = [H+] acid + [H+] water

([H+] acid + [H+] water) [OH-] = 1x10-14

(X + 1x10-7) (X) = 1x10-14

X2 + 1x10-7 X - 1x10-14 = 0

To solve this we need to use quadratic equation:

X = 6.2x10-8

[H+] = [H+] acid + [H+] water

[H+] = 1x10-7 + 6.2x10-8 = 1.62x10-7 M

pH= 6.8

2- Weak Acid or Weak base

If the solution contain one substance which is weak acid or base, we can
calculate the pH value by using K (dissociation constant).

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 Acid-Base Equilibrium & pH Calculations Analytical Chemistry

Example4: Find the pH of a 0.01 M solution of acetic acid, CH3COOH.

The Ka = 1.75x10-5.
Solution : The solution has one substance which is weak acid will partially ionized
in water to form very small concentration of CH3COO– H+ .

CH3COOH ⇌ CH3COO–(aq) + H+ (aq)

Initial state 0.01 0 0

Equilibrium 0.01 – x x x

–
Ka =

Ka =

The value (x) will very small for we can approximate the value to

[CH3COOH] ≃ 0.01M (x value neglected for all the substances with K equals or
lower than 10-5, or dissociation percentage < 5%)

Ka =

X = [H+] = √

[H+] = 0.316x10-3

pH= 3.5

3- Salts

If the solution containing the salt alone we must recognize the type of this salt,
there are four major types:

- Neutral Salts
Salts of strong acid and base (NaCl) this type has neutral acidity (pH = 7)
- Basic Salts
Salts of weak acid and strong base (CH3COONa) this type of salt has pH > 7.

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 Acid-Base Equilibrium & pH Calculations Analytical Chemistry

[H+] = √

pH = (pKw + pKa + log [salt] )

- Acidic Salts
Salts of strong acid and weak base (NH4Cl) this type of salt has pH < 7.

[H+] = √

pH = (pKw ˗ pKb ˗ log [salt] )

We can manipulate the equations above by using:

Kw = Ka x Kb

Example5: Calculate the pH value for 0.2 M ammonium chloride,( Ka 0.55x10-9).

Solution: in this example the solution has one substance which is Ammonium
chloride (NH4Cl) we use the equation directly to find pH.

pH = (pKw ˗ pKb ˗ log [salt] )

Kb = = 1.8x10-5 , pKb = 4.74

pH= (14 ˗ 4.74 ˗ log (0.2)

pH= 4.98

B- Two Substances In The Solution

1- Basic Salt & Weak Acid

When the solution has basic salt (CH3COONa) and it's weak acid (CH3COOH),
and this is called the buffer solution.

To find pH we can use these equation:

[H+] = Ka x

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 Acid-Base Equilibrium & pH Calculations Analytical Chemistry

pH = pKa + log

Example6: Calculate the pH value for solution contain 0.2 M CH3COONa and
0.1 CH3COOH ( Ka 1.75x10-5).

Solution: we have two substance in the solution the weak acid and the basic salt,
we can use the above equation to calculate the pH directly without any derivatives

pH = pKa + log

pH = 4.75 + log 2 = 5.05

2- Acidic Salt & Weak Base

When the solution has acidic salt (NH4Cl) and it's weak base (NH3), this is also
known as buffer solution.

To find pH we can use these equation:

[OH-] = Kb x

pOH = pKb + log

Example7: Calculate the concentration of NH4Cl in solution contain 0.1 M NH3

(Kb 1.75x10-5) to make the pH = 9.
Solution: in this example we have two substance NH4Cl , NH3 weak base and the
acidic salt, we can use the equation directly:

pOH = pKb + log

pOH = 14 – pH = 5

5 = 4.75 + log

= 0.182 M

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 Acid-Base Equilibrium & pH Calculations Analytical Chemistry

C- Three Substances In The Solution

1- Basic salt & Weak Acid + Strong (Acid or Base)

When we add a strong acid or base to the buffer solution the pH value will change
in very small amount because of the buffering effect, the new pH calculate by the
equations :

pH = pKa + log

pH = pKa + log

Example8: Calculate the pH value after adding 1ml of 10M HCl to letter of buffer
solution contain 0.1 M CH3COOH (Ka 1.75x10-5) and 0.1 M CH3COONa.

Solution: at first we must calculate the HCl concentration after adding 1 ml of

10M to 1 letter

C1 x V1 = C2 x V2

10 M x 1 ml = C2 x 1000 ml

C2 = 0.01 M of HCl added to the solution

Now we use the equation above to find the pH value

pH = pKa + log

pH = 4.75 + log

pH = 4.66

2- Acidic salt & Weak Base + Strong (Acid or Base)

We can use the following equations to solve this type of problems:

pOH = pKb + log

pOH = pKb + log

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 Acid-Base Equilibrium & pH Calculations Analytical Chemistry

Problems And Solutions

A- Common Ion

Example 9:What happen to the H+ concentration when adding 0.1 mole of

CH3COONa to letter of 0.1 M CH3COOH (1.75x10-5)?

Solution: To solve this type of problems we need to write the dissociation

equations of the two substances in the solution:

CH3COOH ⇌ CH3COO–(aq) + H+ (aq)

Initial C. 0.1 0 0

Equilibrium 0.1-x x x

CH3COONa ⇌ CH3COO–(aq) + Na+ (aq)

Initial C. 0.1 0 0

Equilibrium 0 0.1 0.1

Common ion

- [H+] Before adding the salt

–
Ka =

1.75x10-5 = 0.1 – X ≃ 0.1 (small value of X)

X = [H+] = 1.3x10-3 M

- [H+] After adding the salt

[CH3COO–] = x + 0.1
–
Ka =

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 Acid-Base Equilibrium & pH Calculations Analytical Chemistry

Ka = 0.1 + X ≃ 0.1 (small value of X)

1.75x10-5 =

X = [H+] = 1.8x10-5 M

B – Titration problems

Example10 : Find the pH after adding 10 ml of 0.2 M of NaOH to solution contain

20 ml of 0.1 M CH3COOH. (Ka = 1.75x10-5).

Solution: we must find the moles of the remaining substances to predict the
equation to use in the solution.

NaOH + CH3COOH ⇌ CH3COONa + H2O

(0.2*10) (0.1*20)

n. of milimoles 2 mmole 2 mmole 0

At Eq. -2 mmole -2 mmol +2 mmole

The remaining moles 0 0 2 mmole

The solution has one substance at equilibrium state this substance is a basic salt we
can use one these equations :

[H+] = √

pH = (pKw + pKa + log [salt] )

pH = (14 + 4.75 + log ( )

we use mmole/ml to calculate the concentration of the salt (30ml the solution
volume)

pH = 8.78

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 Acid-Base Equilibrium & pH Calculations Analytical Chemistry

Example11 : Find the pH after adding 10 ml of 0.2 M of NaOH to solution contain

20 ml of 0.3 M CH3COOH. (Ka = 1.75x10-5).

Solution: we must find the moles of the remaining substances to predict the
equation to use in the solution.

NaOH + CH3COOH ⇌ CH3COONa + H2O

(0.2*10) (0.3*20)

n. of milimoles 2 mmole 6 mmole 0

At Eq. -2 mmole -2 mmol +2 mmole

The remaining moles 0 4 mmole 2 mmole

The solution has two substances at equilibrium these substances are a basic salt &
weak acid we can use buffer equations to solve this problem :

pH = pKa + log

pH = 4.75 + log

pH = 4.44

Example12 : Find the pH after adding 20 ml of 0.2 M of NaOH to solution contain

20 ml of 0.1 M CH3COOH. (Ka = 1.75x10-5).

Solution: we must find the moles of the remaining substances to predict the
equation to use in the solution.

NaOH + CH3COOH ⇌ CH3COONa + H2O

(0.2*20) (0.1*20)

n. of milimoles 4 mmole 2 mmole 0

At Eq. -2 mmole -2 mmol +2 mmole

The remaining moles 2 mmole 0 2 mmole

The solution has two substances at equilibrium these substances are a basic salt &
strong base the effect of the basic salt will be very weak on the pH value so we can
neglected the concentration in the solution and use strong base equation :

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 Acid-Base Equilibrium & pH Calculations Analytical Chemistry

NaOH → Na+ + OH-

Initial C. 2/40ml (0.05M) 0 0

Eq. 0 0.05 0.05

pOH =-log [OH-] = 1.3

pH = 14 – 1.3 = 12.7

References

1- 11.1: Introduction to Acid/Base Equilibria - Chemistry LibreTexts

2- Arrhenius acids and bases (article) | Khan Academy
3- David Harvey. MODERN ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY. 2000,McGraw-
Hill Higher Education. DePauw University. 2000.
4- 14.7: Strong and Weak Acids and Bases - Chemistry LibreTexts
5- pH Definition and Equation in Chemistry

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