Q6 / 51 · JEE Advanced 2023 (Paper 1) · Chemistry

On decreasing the pH from 7 to 2, the solubility of a sparingly soluble salt (MX) of a weak acid (HX) increased from 10-4 mol L-1 to 10-3 mol L-1. The pKa of HX is

  • A
    3
  • Correct answer
    B
    4
  • C
    5
  • D
    2

Solution

At pH=7, i.e., the solubility in water is S,

The solubility product, Ksp=S2  ----->1

Assume the solubility of sparingly soluble salt is at pH=2

MX⇌M⊕+X⊖            S1       S1-x

The weak dissociation reaction is as follows,

X⊖+H⊕⇌HXS1-x  10-2      x

Assume the acid dissociation constant is Ka.

Now, 1Ka=HXH+X-

Ksp=S1S1-x

1Ka=S1H+S1-x assume S1≃x 

S1-x=KspS1

1Ka=S12H+Ksp⇒S12 =10-2KspKa------->2

Now from 1 and 2,

S12S2=10-2Ka⇒Ka=10-2×10-810-6⇒Ka=10-4⇒pKa=4

Hence, the correct answer is option: 'B'.

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