What is the pH of a solution made by dissolving 5.36 grams of calcium fluoride in enough water to make 430 mL of solution? The Ka for HF is 6.8x10–4.

1 Answer
Apr 10, 2018

See Below

Explanation:

Pretty much the only thing you care about are those #F^-1# ions in solution. They are a conjugate base and will give you a basic solution.

#CaF_2#
#5.36gxx("1mole"/"78.07g") = "0.069moles"#

#[F^-1]#
#(2xx0.069)/(0.43L)# = 0.32 M

We need the #K_B#
#K_B = K_w/K_A = (1xx10^-14)/(6.8xx10^-4) = 1.47xx10^-11#

The equation we care about:
#F^-1 + H_2O = HF + OH^-1#

If you set up an ice table, you'll get:
#K_B = [x^2]/[0.32M]# (assuming x<<0.32M)

x = #2.17xx10^-6 M OH^-1# If you add in the #1xx10^-7# from water, you get:

pOH = -log(#2.27xx10^-6 M#)
pOH = 5.64

pH = 14-pOH = 8.36