Polyprotic Acids

[605110118]

What is the difference between k1 and k2?

[Renee Grange 1I]

Polyprotic acids are acids that dissociate more than once. K1 is the value of K for the first ionization. K2 is the K value for the second ionization.

[Rohit Ghosh 4F]

As the acid loses a proton and then another proton, the k values for each step are different.

[Emma Popescu 1L]

Polyprotic acids can donate more than one proton. Protons are donated with the acidity constant (K) decreasing significantly with each proton lost Ka1>>ka2>>ka3. However, for most polyprotic acids (except Sulfuric acid), only the first deprotonation (Ka1) should be taken into account since all subsequent deprotonations do not affect pH significantly so are ignored.

[Catherine Daye 1L]

K1 is when an acid/base dissociates for the first time. K2 is when the resulting conjugate base/acid from the previous reaction dissociates a second time.

[Renee Grange 1I]

Polyprotic acids dissociate more than once. K1 is the K value for the first dissociation and K2 is that for the second dissociation.

[Robin Cadd 1D]

What is the difference between k1 and k2?

K1 is the equilibrium constant for the first dissociation; K2 is the equilibrium constant for the second dissociation. K1>>>K2