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oceanflavored
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when you're doing RICE tables for weak acid/base reactions, when do you neglect x? thanks for ANY input 
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I asked because I never heard of any such acronymic designation. Back several years ago, we used stoichiometry, accounting for concentrations, moles, and some intermediate level Algebra.oceanflavored said:
A RICE table is a tool used to calculate the equilibrium concentrations of reactants and products in a weak acid/base reaction. RICE stands for Reactants, Products, Initial Change, and Equilibrium. It helps to organize the information and make it easier to solve for the unknown concentrations.
A RICE table consists of the reactants and products in the left and right columns respectively, the initial concentrations of the reactants and products, the change in concentration of each species as the reaction proceeds, and the equilibrium concentrations. It also includes the equilibrium constant (K) for the reaction.
X represents the change in concentration of the weak acid or base as it dissociates or reacts with water. X can be neglected if it is significantly smaller than the initial concentration of the weak acid or base. This is typically the case when the initial concentration is larger than 100 times the K value.
To calculate the equilibrium concentrations, you first need to write the balanced chemical equation for the reaction and determine the initial concentrations of each species. Then, use the equilibrium constant (K) to set up an expression for the equilibrium concentrations in terms of X. After solving for X, you can substitute it into the expression to find the equilibrium concentrations.
No, a RICE table is only applicable for weak acid/base reactions. Strong acid/base reactions are assumed to go to completion, so there is no need for an equilibrium expression or a RICE table to determine the concentrations of reactants and products.