Question #ad47d

1 Answer
Mar 29, 2017

A 0.10 mol/L aqueous solution of sodium nitrate has a pH of 7.00.

Explanation:

Sodium nitrate is the salt formed by the reaction of nitric acid with sodium hydroxide.

The equation for the reaction is

#"HNO"_3 + "KOH" → "KNO"_3 + "H"_2"O"#

In ionic form, the equation is

# "H"^"+" + "OH"^"-" → "H"_2"O"#

#"HNO"_3# is a very strong acid, so its conjugate base #"NO"_3^"-"# is a very weak base.

It has no tendency to act as a base in aqueous solution.

In the same way, the conjugate acid of the strong base #"KOH"# is #"K"^"+"#.

#"K"^"+"# has no tendency to act as a base in aqueous solution.

∴ The pH of a neutral solution is 7.00.