Why is Ka important in chemistry?

1 Answer
May 21, 2018

In chemistry?

It tells chemists quantitatively how strong an acid is without having to do an experiment.

Moreover, it's very useful in calculations involving titrations or other analyses of weak acids that we can't assume dissociate fully upon solvation.

What is a #K_"a"# value?

It's the equilibrium constant for the acid-dissociation equilibrium,

#HA rightleftharpoons H^(+) + A^(-)#

where,

#K_"a" = ([A^-][H^+])/([HA])#