Topic: pKa of a substance (Read 4485 times)

bornaprine · « **on:** July 19, 2008, 06:49:54 AM »

What does pKa of a substance tell us? What can we understand by looking at the pKa of a substance?

Thanks!

Dan · « **Reply #1 on:** July 19, 2008, 07:24:25 AM »

pKa is a measure of acidity.

Start here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acid_dissociation_constant

Or look it up in any chemistry textbook.

bornaprine · « **Reply #2 on:** July 19, 2008, 07:30:22 AM »

Thanks Dan!

But the point that I can't understand is how can someone decide if a reaction can occur looking at the pKa values?

Thanks!