The equation for weak acid is used to calculated the unknown concentration of weak acid after dissociation in solution. This equation is paired with fraction of dissociation of an acid equation.
The equation is derived from
where the original weak acid dissociation reaction is .
Solving for x , we assume that x is going to be a very small number thus (F-x)=F. Then the equation becomes. Multiplying both sides by F (formal concentration), we get . Taking the square root of both sides we get .
The equation is
where
Harris, 9th Edition. Pp.193