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What is the equilibrium constant expression for the dissociation of acetic acid, CH3COOH, in water? Calculate the equilibrium constant value given that the pH of the solution is 4.5 and the initial concentration of acetic acid is 0.1 M.

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The dissociation of acetic acid  CH3COOH  in water can be represented by the following chemical equation:CH3COOH  aq   CH3COO-  aq  + H+  aq The equilibrium constant expression for this reaction is given by:K_a = [CH3COO-][H+]/[CH3COOH]Given that the pH of the solution is 4.5, we can find the concentration of H+ ions:pH = -log[H+]4.5 = -log[H+][H+] = 10^-4.5  = 3.16 x 10^-5  MLet x be the change in concentration of CH3COOH, CH3COO-, and H+ at equilibrium. Then:[CH3COOH] = 0.1 - x[CH3COO-] = x[H+] = 3.16 x 10^-5  + xSince the initial concentration of acetic acid is much larger than the concentration of H+ ions, we can assume that x is small compared to 0.1 M. Therefore, we can approximate [CH3COOH]  0.1 M. Now, we can substitute these values into the K_a expression:K_a =  x  3.16 x 10^-5  + x / 0.1 Since x is small, we can also assume that 3.16 x 10^-5  + x  3.16 x 10^-5 . Now, we can solve for K_a:K_a =  x  3.16 x 10^-5  / 0.1 x = [CH3COO-] = [H+] - 3.16 x 10^-5  = 3.16 x 10^-5  M  since x is small K_a =  3.16 x 10^-5   3.16 x 10^-5  / 0.1  = 1.00 x 10^-9 The equilibrium constant value  K_a  for the dissociation of acetic acid in water is approximately 1.00 x 10^-9 .

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