Will #"rubidium acetate"# give a neutral, acidic, or basic solution upon dissolution in water?

1 Answer
anor277
Feb 17, 2017

#"Rubidium acetate"# is the alkali metal salt of a weak acid.....

Explanation:

It will behave a base in water. Acetate salts undergo the following equilibrium in water:

#H_3C-CO_2^(-) + H_2O(l) rightleftharpoons H_3C-CO_2H + HO^-#

Given a #pK_a# for acetic acid (which I think is #4.76#) you could quantify this expression. Anyway an aqueous solution of rubidium acetate will be slightly basic given the hydrolysis reaction.

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