2-2 Acids and Bases; Electrophiles and Nucleophiles

Chapter 2

C H E M I C A L H IGH LIG H T 2-1

Stomach Acid and Food Digestion
The human stomach produces, on average, 2 L of 0.02 M
hydrochloric acid each day. The pH of stomach juice falls
in the range between 1.0 and 2.5, dropping as HCl production rises in response to the stimuli of tasting, smelling,
or even looking at food. Stomach acid disrupts the natural
folded shapes of protein molecules in food, exposing
them to attack and breakdown by a variety of digestive
enzymes.
You may wonder how the stomach protects itself from
such strongly acidic conditionsafter all, stomach tissue
itself is constructed of protein molecules. The interior
lining of the stomach is coated with a layer of cells
called gastric mucosa, whose mucous secretions insulate
the stomach wall from acidic gastric juices. When certain
cells just beneath the gastric mucosa are activated by the
stimuli described above, they release signaling molecules
called histamine that cause parietal cells located in pits in
the lining to secrete HCl into the stomach. Cimetidine,
famotidine, and ranitidine, active ingredients in so-called
acid-reducer medications, block histamine from reaching
the parietal cells, interrupting the signal that would cause
production of stomach acid. These products are useful in
treating conditions such as hyperacidity, the secretion of
unnecessarily large amounts of acid, and peptic ulcers,
sores that result from bacterial infections that weaken the
mucosa, exposing the lining to acid attack.

The parietal cells in the gastric pits of the stomach secrete

hydrochloric acid upon activation by histamine.

The acidity of a general acid, HA, is expressed by the following general equation,
together with its associated equilibrium constant.
K

HA 1 H2O H3O1 1 A2 K 5

[H3O1 ][A2 ]
[HA][H2O]

In dilute aqueous solution, [H2O] is constant at 55 mol L21, so this number may be incorporated into a new constant, the acid dissociation constant, Ka.
Ka 5 K[H2O] 5

[H3O1 ][A2 ]
mol L21
[HA]

Like the concentration of H3O1 and its relation to pH, this measurement may be put on
a logarithmic scale by the corresponding definition of pKa.
pKa 5 2log Ka*

*Ka carries the units of molarity, or mol L21, because it is the product of a dimensionless equilibrium
constant K and the concentration [H2O], which equals 55 mol L21. However, the logarithm function can
operate only on dimensionless numbers. Therefore, pKa is properly defined as the negative log of the
numerical value of Ka, which is Ka divided by the units of concentration. (For purposes of simplicity, we
will omit the units of Ka in exercises and problems.)

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