Questions: What is the equilibrium constant for the acid-base reaction between ethanol and acetic acid? The pKs of acetic acid is 4.756, and the pKa of the ethyloxonium ion is -2.4. Be sure your answer has the correct number of significant figures.
Transcript text: What is the equilibrium constant for the acid-base reaction between ethanol and acetic acid? The $\mathrm{p} K_{s}$ of acetic acid is 4.756, and the $\mathrm{p} K_{a}$ of the ethyloxonium ion is -2.4. Be sure your answer has the correct number of significant figures.
Solution
Solution Steps
Step 1: Understanding the Reaction
The reaction between ethanol and acetic acid can be represented as:
\[ \text{CH}_3\text{COOH} + \text{C}_2\text{H}_5\text{OH} \rightleftharpoons \text{CH}_3\text{COO}^- + \text{C}_2\text{H}_5\text{OH}_2^+ \]
Step 2: Relating pKa and pKs
The equilibrium constant \( K \) for the reaction can be found using the relationship between the pKa values of the acids involved. The equilibrium constant for the reaction is given by:
\[ K = 10^{\text{p}K_a(\text{ethyloxonium ion}) - \text{p}K_a(\text{acetic acid})} \]