polyprotic vs monoprotic

[Nikhil Pillai 2K]

How does an acid being polyprotic or monoprotic affect how we approach problems with each of those? Does it change anything?

[morganm]

So far I believe we've only really dealt with monoprotic acids, so we know how to approach those kinds of problems. For polyprotic acids, we have to consider that the final product after the first reaction can react again and donate another proton. So yes, we approach the problem differently because the acid can donate protons more than once. However, it ultimately depends on what the question is asking of you.

[Emily Do 1F]

Yes an acid being polyprotic will change the calculations, most likely being that you will have to complete another ICE table that is based off of your results from the first ICE table. Any time you see more than one Ka value, it means that an acid is donating more than one proton (H+)!