Can Ka Be Negative Math
Think about what it would mean if k were negative.
Can ka be negative math. I did not check you. 5 3 5 3 8 if you re subtracting negatives from positives the two negatives cancel out and it becomes addition. A large ka value indicates a strong acid because it means the acid is largely dissociated into its ions. That would mean that the molar concentration for at least one of the reactants or products was negative.
A large ka value also means the formation of products in the reaction is favored. We already know a good bit about negative numbers. Martínez writes with an easy reading clarity to tackle some of the simplest but no less profoundly. The ride is going to get very unsettling indeed.
Math 7th grade negative numbers. So if the ka is greater than 1 then the pka will be negative. That is we like to believe that basic laws such as a times b b times a and a times 1 a and a times 0 0 hold for all numbers both positive and negative and that we can expand brackets even with negative entries and so on. But when we use scalar numbers we are measuring something like temperature or height negative values are useful.
Our mission is to provide a free world class education to anyone anywhere. That means that there would be less than. Measurements one way are positive and they are negative the other way. So you can imagine we re going to start seeing negatives and fractions together a lot.
The ka value for most weak acids ranges from 10 2 to 10 14. How mathematical rules can be positively bent by alberto a martínez this book starts gently enough easing us in with the unarguable 2 2 4. Add subtract multiply and divide negative numbers. Yes the pka is the negative log of the acid equilibrium constant ka.
And we know a good bit of fractions. Strong acids have negative pkas like hcl hbr. What i want to do in this video is just make sure we have a decent understanding how to manipulate negative signs when we see them. See uses of negative numbers we take a fixed point and call that zero.
Likewise if you were to subtract a positive integer from a negative one the calculation becomes a matter of addition with the addition of a negative value. In fact the counting numbers cannot be negative for this reason. Favorite answer ka can be less then 1 and offen is if ka is less then 1 the the reactants a favorered over products at equalibrium but ka can never be a negative number. June 2006 negative math.
But don t let this lull you into a misplaced sense of comfort. A small ka value means little of the acid dissociates so you have a weak acid.