Equilibrium constant and

temperature of the
solutions
INTRODUCTION

•pH is a measure of the acidity

pH or alkalinity of a solution

•A constant of dissociation
Constant acidic ka, also known as
Ka constant of acidity or constant
of ionization

•is the equilibium constant for

Equilibrium Equilibrium the dissociation of a weak
HA <------> A- + H+ constant acid, in the context of the
reactions acid-base
•

•
 𝑑 ln 𝐾 ∆𝐻°
= …. Ecuation 1
𝑑𝑇 𝑅𝑇 2

K= Equilibrium constant
T= Temperature in Kelvin
H= Enthalpy change
R= Gas constant

∆𝐻° 1 ∆𝑆°
ln(𝐾) = − + ….Ecuation 2
𝑅 𝑇 𝑅
 First, a The pH of
beaker is Determine
The pH the The acid the acid is
filled with meter is in the kept under
50 milliliters uncertainty
calibrated pressure for
of acetic in the pH by beaker
10 seconds
acid using using pH 4 reading the was and then
a 50 milliliter and pH 7 pH of the cooled to take the
pipette. buffer buffer 10 °C. average
solutions.
pH.

The pH of The entire The same

the acid is procedure technique The
kept under is repeated was used to average
pressure for twice more measure the was
pH for 6
10 seconds so that we different
recorded
and then can have temperature as the pH
take the three s ranging of the acid
average different from 10 ° C at 10 ° C.
pH. tests. to 70 ° C
Temperature pH (±𝟎. 𝟏)
(±𝟎. 𝟏°𝑪) Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Average
10.0 3.2 3.3 3.1 3.2
20.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0
30.0 2.9 2.9 2.8 2.9
40.0 2.7 2.7 2.7 2.7
50.0 2.6 2.6 2.5 2.6
60.0 2.4 2.4 2.4 2.4
70.0 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.3
Calculation of Ka
[H]
𝐻 = 10−𝑝𝐻
𝐻 = 10−3.2 = 6.30957 ∗ 10−4
Same way [H] was calculated for other temperatures as well.

As this a weak acid concentration of acetate ion is also equal to the [H]

𝐻 𝐶𝐻3 𝐶𝑂𝑂−
Therefore, 𝐾𝑎 = 𝐶𝐻3 𝐶𝑂𝑂𝐻

Example: for the first temperature of 10 C 𝐾𝑎 = 3.8 ∗ 10−6 at 3.2 pH

Same way calculation was done for other temperatures .

Calculation of uncertainty in Ka
First the value of Ka was calculated .
Example: Ka value for the temperature 10 ºC 𝐾𝑎 = 3.8 ∗ 10−6 at 3.2 pH Then the value of Ka with pH of 3.1 was calculated
as uncertainty in pH is 0.1
So Ka at 3.1 is 6.31 ∗ 10−4
3.98∗10−6
So uncertainty =6.31∗10−4 ∗ 100 = 63%, so uncertainty is 37%
Temperature (0.1) Equilibrium Constant Ka (+/- 37%)

10 3.98*10^-6

20 8.71*10^-6

30 1.82*10^-5

40 4.37*10^-5

50 7.94*10^-5

60 1.51*10^-4

70 2.51*10^-4
Evaluation

Even though the experiment was conducted very carefully to minimize the errors, but still we
had some errors which might have change the results.
The main weakness of this investigation was the extreme unrealiability of pH meters. The
readings changed over time and oscillated during each trial . An uncearty of 0.1 in pH
represents a 10% uncertainty in the concentration of hydronium ions. A better quality pH meter
woyld increase the reability of the results significantly.
There could have been an error in the temperature reading during the pH reading . The
temperature might have changed within 10 seconds . This could have affected the value of Ka
. The pH should have been taken when the tenperature would have stabilized .
Another error was the stirring of the solution . The pH meter was used to stir the solution . Stirring
with the pH meter may have resulted in bouncing in pH readings which may have affected the
final graph . In order to improve this error a proper stirring must have been used so that the pH
meter could remain still during readings .