Water ionizes by the equation:
H2O(l) ⇌ H+(aq) + OH-(aq)
The extent of the reaction is small in pure water and dilute aqueous solutions. This reaction creates the following relationship between [H+] and [OH-]:
Kw = [H+][OH-]
Keep in mind that, like all equilibrium constants, the value of Kw changes with temperature.
a) What is the H+ concentration for an aqueous solution with pOH = 2.90 at 25°C?
b) Arrange the following aqueous solutions, all at 25°C, in order of decreasing acidity. Rank from most acidic to most basic. To rank items as equivalent, overlap them.
- pOH = 8.55
- pH = 5.45
- 0.0018 mol/L KOH
- 0.0023 mol/L HCl
c) At a certain temperature, the pH of a neutral solution is 7.65. What is the value of Kw at that temperature?