How can the acidity constant of water in itself be defined?

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In summary: Dilute solution" in this context typically means "water concentration can be assumed to be constant".Water has an acidity constant of 10-15.7.
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Sorry if this question has already been asked but I didn't find it in this forum.

Which is the acidity constant of water in itself?

Ka of a weak acid HA in water dilute solution is defined considering the aequilibrium:

HA + H2O ↔ H3O+ + A- (1)
then:
Ka(HA) = [H3O+]⋅[A-] / [HA]

this, for what I know, because in dilute solution [H2O] is constant and can then be "incorporated" in the aequilibrium constant Keq:

Keq. = [H3O+]⋅[A-] / [HA]⋅[H2O]

Ka = Keq⋅[H2O] = constant1⋅constant2.

So, my "natural" guess to how Ka(H2O) can be defined, would be to replace HA with H2O in the aequilibrium (1) and then as follow.
Let's consider the aequilibrium:

H2O + H2O ↔ H3O+ + OH-

then:

Ka(H2O) = [H3O+]⋅[OH-] / [H2O] = Kw/[H2O] = 10-14/(1000/18) = 10-15.7.

But there is a problem: can I here really consider the acid H2O as in "dilute solution"? It seems meaningless...

How would you define the acidity constant of water in itself, in case is definible?

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"Dilute solution" in this context typically means "water concentration can be assumed to be constant".

Does it hold for water dissociation? (Hint: compare concentration of dissociation products with concentration of water itself).
 
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Borek said:
"Dilute solution" in this context typically means "water concentration can be assumed to be constant".

Does it hold for water dissociation? (Hint: compare concentration of dissociation products with concentration of water itself).
From your answer I deduce that my definition of Ka(H2O) is correct. Is it?
Now let's see it from the point of view of activities.
Concerning [H3O+]and [OH_] there is no problem because they are so small to be certainly equal to their activities. But the activity of water is (or it should be) equal to 1. Is it correct?
But then Ka(H2O) should be equal to Kw = 10-14 and not 10-15.7.

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FAQ: How can the acidity constant of water in itself be defined?

1. What is Ka for water?

Ka, or the acid dissociation constant, is a measure of the strength of an acid in water. It tells us the extent to which an acid will dissociate into its constituent ions in a solution.

2. How do I calculate Ka for water?

The formula for Ka is: Ka = [H+][A-]/[HA], where [H+] represents the concentration of hydrogen ions, [A-] represents the concentration of the conjugate base, and [HA] represents the concentration of the acid. For water, the concentrations of [H+] and [A-] are both equal to 1 x 10^-7 M. Therefore, the Ka for water is equal to 1 x 10^-14.

3. Why is Ka for water so small?

Ka for water is small because water is a weak acid. This means that it does not dissociate completely in water, resulting in a low concentration of hydrogen ions and a low Ka value.

4. How does temperature affect Ka for water?

The value of Ka for water remains constant at standard conditions (25°C). However, as the temperature increases, the dissociation of water into hydrogen ions and hydroxide ions becomes more favorable, resulting in a slightly higher Ka value.

5. Can Ka for water be used to calculate pH?

Yes, the Ka value for water can be used to calculate the pH of a solution. The pH is equal to -log[H+], so by plugging in the Ka value for water, we can calculate the pH of pure water to be 7.

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