Question #859e4
1 Answer
The concentration of the hydronium ions will be largely determined by the presence of the hydrochloric acid, which is a strong acid that completely dissociates in aqueous solution.
By comparison,
The smaller the acid dissociation constant is, the more the equilibrium will lie to the left, meaning that fewer molecules of
Moreover, the presence of the hydrochloric acid will push this equilibrium even further to the left, because of the relatively large concentration of hydronium ions that results from its dissociation - this is known as Le Chatelier's Principle.
So, when hydrochloric acid dissociates, it forms hydronium ions and chloride ions
Since you have a
Now examine what happens with the weak acid.
I.......0.10.................................0.0100.........0
C......(-x)......................................(+x)..........(+x)
E......0.10-x............................0.0100+x........x
The acid dissociation constant will be equal to
Since
The total concentration of the hydronium ions will thus be
As predicted, the concentration of the hydronium ions will largely be determined by the concentration of the strong acid.
SIDE NOTE Without the strong acid present, the concentration of the hydronium ions will be equal to