Determine the acid dissociation constant for a 0.010 M nitrous acid (HNO2) solution that has a pH of 2.70. Nitrous acid is a weak monoprotic acid and the equilibrium equation of interest is:

HNO₂ ⇄ H⁺ + NO₂⁻

Ka = 4.0 × 10⁻⁴

Explanation:

Step 1: Given data

Step 2: Write the acid dissociation reaction

Nitrous acid is a weak acid that dissociates according to the following expression.

HNO₂ ⇄ H⁺ + NO₂⁻

Step 3: Calculate the concentration of H⁺

We will use the definition of pH.

pH = -log [H⁺]

[H⁺] = antilog - pH = antilog -2.70 = 2.00 × 10⁻³ M

Step 4: Calculate the acid dissociation constant (Ka)

For a weak acid, we can calculate Ka using the following expression.

Ka = [H⁺]²/Ca

Ka = (2.00 × 10⁻³)²/0.010

Ka = 4.0 × 10⁻⁴