dissociation please help!!?

Question

Could someone please explain to me in really simple terms what is ment by acid dissociation.

Thankyou!


also, any ideas as to why I would get acidic readings of 5.43 and 6.43 when I measured the pH of two very weak NaOH solutions (diluted with distilled water) - is this caused by dissociation?

Answer 1

When an H+ ion splits off a covalently-bonded acid, this is called dissociation. The more this happens, the stronger the acid, and the lower the pH.
Your readings with very dilute NaOH are erroneous, and were probably caused by using acidic water to dilute the NaOH, or by wrongly calibrating the pH meter that you seem to have used.
Any solution of NaOH should have a pH above 7.