Aqueous Solution Introduction

We started the lesson with an overview of the aqueous solution topic, linking it to the chemical reactivity topic from last year:

In the worked example above, we use an equilibrium equation to show the sparingly soluble nature of copper (II) carbonate. This means that we can write an equilibrium expression for it, called the solubility product.

One of the ions made can actually act as a base, making the solution slightly alkaline. We can show this with another equilibrium equation (as it is a weak base). Again, there is an equilibrium expression for this, called the base constant.

The base (carbonate) and its conjugate acid (hydrogen carbonate) can be put together in similar concentrations to create a solution called a buffer. Buffer solutions can resist changes in temperature and pH due to the presence of both the base and its conjugate acid (or vice versa).