Answer to Question #82694 in Physical Chemistry for Charlotte Joseph

Question

The bicarbonate ion, HCO3-- can potentially act as an acid or as a base in water. Write the chemical equations for these two processes, and from the information given in Manahan, determine the corresponding acid and base dissociation constants. Given the relative magnitudes of the dissociation constants, decide whether the dominant reaction of bicarbonate in water will be as an acid or as a base. Calculate the pH of an aqueous 0.010 M solution of sodium bicarbonate in water using the dominant reaction alone, and assuming that the amounts of carbonate ion and carbonic acid from other sources are negligible in this case.