4. Types of chemical reactions and solution stoichiometry
Water, the common solvent
aqueous solutions: solutions in which water is the solvent (dissolving medium)
water can dissolve many different substances
H₂O molecules
O—H bonds are covalent bonds (electron sharing between oxygen and hydrogen atoms
electrons not shared equally
oxygen has greater attraction for electrons than hydrogen
oxygen atoms gain slight excess of negative charge; hydrogen atoms become slightly positive
polar molecule: unequal charge distribution
δ (delta) indicates partial charge (+ or -)
water dissolves ionic substances
hydration: when “positive ends” of water molecules are attracted to negatively-charged anions and “negative ends” are attracted to positively-charged cations
hydration of ions tends to cause salt to “fall apart” or dissolve into the water
strong forces among the ions are replaced by strong water-ion interactions
when ionic substances (salts) dissolve in water, they break up into the individual cations and aniosn
e.g. ammonium nitrate dissolves in water:
NH₄NO₃ —(H₂Ol)→ NH₄⁺ (aq) + NO₃⁻ (aq)
solubility of ionic substances in water differs greatly
differences typically depend on:
relative attractions of the ions for each other (holding the solids together)
attractions of the ions for water molecules (which cause the solid to disperse in water)
when an ionic compound does dissolve in water, the ions become hydrated and are dispersed
water also dissolves many nonionic substances
e.g. ethanol (C₂H₅OH)
contains a polar O—H bond like in water; very compatible
many substances do not dissolve in water
e.g. animal fat: fat molecules are nonpolar and do not interact effectively with polar water molecules
“like dissolves like”: polar and ionic substances are expected to be more soluble in water than nonpolar substances
Strong and weak electrolytes
solute: substance dissolved in liquid to form a solution
solvent: dissolving medium in a solution
electrical conductivity: ability of a solution to conduct an electric current
electrolyte: substance that when dissolved in water produces a solution that can conduct electricity
solutions with strong electrolytes can conduct a current very efficiently
solutions with weak electrolytes conduct only a small current
solutions with nonelectrolytes permit no current to flow
basis for conductivity properties of solutions
first identified by Svante Arrhenius (1859-1927)
then a Swedish graduate student in physics
came to believe that the conductivity of solutions arose from the presence of ions
initially scorned by majority of scientific establishment
late 1890s: atoms found to contain charged particles; ionic theory became widely accepted
extent to which a solution can conduct an electric current depends directly on the number of ions present
Strong electrolytes
substances that are completely ionized when they are dissolved in water
soluble salts: contain array of cations and ions that separate and become hydrated when the salt dissolves
strong acids: strong electrolytes that dissociate (ionize) completely in aqueous solution
Arrhenius: found that when HCl, HNO₃, and H₂SO₄ were dissolved in water, they behaved as strong electrolytes
acid: substance that produces H⁺ ions (protons) when it is dissolved in water
ionization of an acid: HA (aq) + H₂O (l) → H₃O⁺ (aq) + A⁻ (aq)
hydrochloric acid, nitric acid, sulfuric acid are aqueous and should be written with (aq) (HCl (aq), HNO₃ (aq), H₂SO₄ (aq)) although they often appear without them
a strong acid is one that dissolves completely into its ions; virtually no HCl molecules exist in aqueous solutions
sulfuric acid: formula indicates that it can produce two H⁺ ions per molecule, but only the first H⁺ ion is completely dissociated
second can be pulled off under certain conditions
aqueous solution of H₂SO₄ contains mostly H⁺ ions and HSO₄⁻ ions
strong bases: soluble ionic compounds contain the hydroxide ion (OH⁻)
when dissolved in water, cations and OH⁻ ions separate and move independently
most common basic solutions: when sodium hydroxide (NaOH) or potassium hydroxide (KOH) is dissolved in water to produce ions
Weak electrolytes
substances that exhibit a small degree of ionization in water
produce relatively few ions when dissolved in water
most common: weak acids and weak bases
weak acids: any acid that dissociates (ionizes) only to a slight extent in aqueous solutions
formulas
often written with acidic hydrogen atom(s) (any that will produce H⁺ ions in solution) listed first
any nonacidic hydrogens written later
example: HC₂H₃O₂ (acetic acid) indicates one acidic and three nonacidic hydrogen atoms
disassociation reaction for acetic acid in water: HC₂H₃O₂ (aq) + H₂O (l) ⇌ H₃O⁺ (aq) + C₂H₃O₂⁻ (aq)
unlike strong acids, very small numbers of molecules (~1% for acetic acid) dissociate in aqueous solutions at typical concentrations
weak bases: resulting solution is a weak electrolyte