For acid solutions comprised of a moderately concentrated mixture of strong and weak acids, the [H+] concentration is approximately equal to the concentration of the strong acid (e.g. HNO3). This approximation applies to the acid rain experiment you are about to carry out. In your experiment, acid rain samples will involve the following reactions: weak acid : HNO2 H + + NO− strong acid : HNO3 ⎯ → H + + NO− From these reactions, you can recognize that the strong acid, nitric acid, completely dissociates into hydrogen ions and nitrate ions, whereas the weak acid, nitrous acid, is predominately in its molecular form, HNO2. A. One simple way to measure the [H+] is to measure pH. If a 10.0mL solution of “acid rain” is measured to have a pH=2.77, what is the concentration of strong acid, HNO3, formed? Hint: pH=-log[H+] and 10–pH= [H+], where [H+] is in molarity units.

For acid solutions comprised of a moderately concentrated mixture of strong and weak acids, the [H+] concentration is approximately equal to the concentration of the strong acid (e.g. HNO3). This approximation applies to the acid rain experiment you are about to carry out. In your experiment, acid rain samples will involve the following reactions: weak acid : HNO2 H + + NO− strong acid : HNO3 ⎯ → H + + NO− From these reactions, you can recognize that the strong acid, nitric acid, completely dissociates into hydrogen ions and nitrate ions, whereas the weak acid, nitrous acid, is predominately in its molecular form, HNO2. A. One simple way to measure the [H+] is to measure pH. If a 10.0mL solution of “acid rain” is measured to have a pH=2.77, what is the concentration of strong acid, HNO3, formed? Hint: pH=-log[H+] and 10–pH= [H+], where [H+] is in molarity units.