What is the pH of a Mixture of 2.00M Chlorus Acid and 2.00M Formic Acid?

AI Thread Summary
The pH of a mixture of 2.00M chlorus acid and 2.00M formic acid can be calculated using their respective acid dissociation constants (Ka). The Ka of chlorus acid is significantly higher than that of formic acid, indicating it contributes more to the H+ concentration. The calculations show that the dominant contribution comes from chlorus acid, resulting in a pH of approximately 0.845. While it is possible to consider contributions from both acids, the significant difference in their pKa values allows for simplification. Therefore, the pH of the mixture is effectively determined by the stronger acid, chlorus acid.
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Homework Statement


2.00M chlorus acid and 2.00M formic acid are mixed. What is the pH?


Homework Equations


Ka of chlorus acid is 1.1×10-2
Ka of formic acid is 1.78×10-4


The Attempt at a Solution


For chlorus acid with quadratic equation to find x:
x²+0.011x-0.022
(-0.011\pm\sqrt{}0.000121-4(1)(-0.022))/2
(-0.011\pm0.297)/2
The positive number of the two choices is 0.143

For formic acid, and the x being small enough to neglect, x is:
x²/2=0.000178
x²=0.000356
x=0.0189

When mixing weak acids, I think I was told that only the acid with the larger Ka value matters, meaning taking the negative log of chlorus acid's H ion gets -log0.143=0.845.

I wasn't sure this was correct so then I tried adding the two H ion concentration from each acid to find their pH. I did 0.143+0.0189=0.162 and negative log that for 0.791.
I'm not sure it is added this way, since I got a bit confused about the idea of adding molarity together, so I divided by 2 first then negative log for 1.09.

Still I'm not sure this is correct so I think I took the wrong steps. How is this correctly done?
 
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312213 said:
When mixing weak acids, I think I was told that only the acid with the larger Ka value matters, meaning taking the negative log of chlorus acid's H ion gets -log0.143=0.845.

It isn't entirely true - you can do it if the difference between both acids pKas is large enough and if the weaker acid is weak enough. That's the case here and 0.84 is a correct answer.

Unfortunately, it is hard to be more specific.
 
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