How does pH affect solubility equilibria?

Answer 1

Acidic conditions basically remove CO3-2 from solution and increase solubility of CaCO3, in a manner similar to Le Chatleir's Principle. For example, CaCO3(s) ionizes into Ca+2 and CO3-2. Since CO3-2 can get protonated in acidic conditions to HCO3-1 and H2CO3, acidic conditions usually only affect solubility equilibria in the cases where the ions formed by the solubility of the solid are conjugate acids or bases.

Low pH has no effect on the solubility of AgCl because it ionizes into Ag+ and Cl-. Neither of the ions formed in this instance cares about H+ because Cl- won't protonate back to HCl.

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Answer 2

Olivia Anton

pH affects solubility equilibria by influencing the ionization of substances. For weak acids or bases, changes in pH can shift the equilibrium, impacting the solubility of salts or other compounds. High pH promotes solubility for weak acids, while low pH enhances solubility for weak bases.

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Answer from HIX Tutor

When evaluating a one-sided limit, you need to be careful when a quantity is approaching zero since its sign is different depending on which way it is approaching zero from. Let us look at some examples.