The [H+] = 3.16 x 10^-4 M and the [OH -] = 3.16 x 10^-11 so the [H+] is bigger than the [OH-] that is as far as I got however, I don't know how to explain if it is a strong acid or not.
2006-07-22 15:34:18 · 7 answers · asked by Claudia V 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Chemistry
Froggyj5 is right:
Strong acids dissociate completely while weak ones dissociate only in part.
The answer needs however to be a bit more complete.
First of all you don't know the valency of your acid, that is how many H+ you have per molecule.
In the simplest case, it is a monoprotic acid then each molecule would give one H+, so from the stoichiometry of the reaction you would expect to have [H+]=0.035 which means pH=1.4 .
You have pH=3.5 (or [H+]=3.16x10^-4) which means that not all of the acid dissociates and thus it is weak.
If you had pH=1.4 then it would be a strong acid only if it is a monoprotic acid. Otherwise the pH for full dissociation would be lower and thus your acid would be in fact weak. (e.g for a diprotic acid you would expect [H+]=2*[acid]=0.07 and thus pH=1.1 for full dissociation)
2006-07-22 21:50:35 · answer #1 · answered by bellerophon 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
A strong acid can be best described as one where the concentration of the solute will be close to the concentration of H+ in the solution. Given a molarity of 0.035 M, taking the negative of the base-10 logarithm yields about pH 1.456. Since the pH is not that low, I would speculate that the acid is not very strong unless there is a base in the solution as well.
2006-07-22 16:55:51 · answer #2 · answered by Ѕємι~Мαđ ŠçїєŋŧιѕТ 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think it's a weak acid. You can't tell how strong an acid is just from its pH. You were right to find out the concentration of hydrogen ions; that's important. A strong acid is an acid, say HCl where all of the molecules dissociate from each other. So if you had 0.035M HCL, the concentration of H+ ions would also equal 0.035M. Since, the concentration of H+ ions is significantly lower, you must have a weak acid.
In a weak acid, only a fraction of the molecules in the solution dissociate into their respective ions. Hydrofluoric acid (HF) is an example.
2006-07-22 15:42:31 · answer #3 · answered by froggyj5 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is a strong acid because it has a low PH. It is not a very concentrated acid because the Molarity is .035. Concentration does not equal strenght.
2006-07-22 15:52:51 · answer #4 · answered by sgcfx949 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i guess in the middle because of the pH scale. acids go from 1-6? and 7 being neutral
2006-07-22 15:37:34 · answer #5 · answered by got_deam_munalla 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
as it has ph of 3.5 its strong acid,suppose any acid has ph of 2.5,it will be much stronger than that before.so less ph mean strong acid
2006-07-22 15:44:05 · answer #6 · answered by ghulamalimurtaza 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It´s weak
2006-07-22 18:06:59 · answer #7 · answered by michael_gdl 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋