What happens when acetic acid is added to distilled water?
When acetic acid is added to distilled water a Homogeneous solution will be obtained and that solution will be colourless and transparent this shows that ethanoic acid or acetic acid in soluble in water. ... Thus adding few drops of acetic acid will make it little acidic......
What happens when acetic acid is added to distilled water?
**Introduction**
When acetic acid is added to distilled water, a chemical reaction occurs, resulting in the formation of a solution known as diluted acetic acid. Acetic acid, also known as ethanoic acid, is a weak acid with the molecular formula CH3COOH. Distilled water, on the other hand, is pure water that has been separated from impurities through a process of distillation.
**Dissociation of Acetic Acid**
When acetic acid is added to distilled water, the acetic acid molecules dissociate, releasing hydrogen ions (H+) into the solution. This dissociation occurs because acetic acid is a weak acid, meaning it only partially ionizes in water. The dissociation reaction can be represented as follows:
CH3COOH ⇌ CH3COO- + H+
The acetic acid molecule (CH3COOH) breaks apart into the acetate ion (CH3COO-) and a hydrogen ion (H+).
**Formation of Hydronium Ions**
The released hydrogen ions (H+) react with water molecules (H2O) present in the solution, resulting in the formation of hydronium ions (H3O+). This process is known as protonation and can be represented by the following equation:
H+ + H2O → H3O+
The hydrogen ion accepts a lone pair of electrons from a water molecule, forming a hydronium ion.
**Dilution of Acetic Acid**
The addition of acetic acid to distilled water also results in the dilution of the acid. Since distilled water has a neutral pH of 7, adding acetic acid (which is acidic) will decrease the overall acidity of the solution. This means that the concentration of acetic acid in the solution decreases as it becomes more diluted.
**Final Solution**
After the addition of acetic acid to distilled water and the subsequent dissociation and dilution processes, the final solution contains acetic acid molecules, acetate ions, hydronium ions, and water molecules. The solution will have a slightly acidic pH due to the presence of the hydronium ions resulting from the dissociation of acetic acid. The concentration of acetic acid in the solution will depend on the amount of acid added and the volume of water used for dilution.
Overall, when acetic acid is added to distilled water, it dissociates into acetate ions and hydrogen ions. The hydrogen ions further react with water molecules to form hydronium ions. This process leads to the dilution of acetic acid and the formation of a slightly acidic solution.
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