What is the pH of 0.001 M NaOH(aq) at 298 K?
1 Answer
Explanation:
The problem provides you with the temperature of the solution because at
#color(blue)(ul(color(black)("pH + pOH = 14")))#
This means that you can express the
#"pOH" = - log(["OH"^(-)])#
You can thus say that the
#"pH" = 14 - "pOH"#
#"pH" = 14 - [ - log(["OH"^(-)])]#
#"pH" = 14 + log(["OH"^(-)])#
So instead of calculating the
#"pH" = - log(["H"_3"O"^(+)])#
you can do so indirectly by using the concentration of hydroxide anions.
Now, sodium hydroxide is a strong base, which means that it dissociates completely in aqueous solution to produce sodium cations, which are of no interest to you here, and hydroxide anions.
Both ions are produced in
#["OH"^(-)] = ["NaOH"] = "0.001 M"#
Now that you know the concentration of hydroxide anions in this solution, you can say that its
#"pH" = 14 + log(0.001) = color(darkgreen)(ul(color(black)("11.0")))#
The answer is rounded to one decimal place, the number of sig figs you have for the concentration of the strong base.