Unanswered Questions
316 questions with no upvoted or accepted answers
6
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Why is supersaturated sodium acetate so (meta)stable?
Sodium acetate is a common example used in general chemistry lectures to illustrate the idea of supersaturation, and that precipitation of a supersaturated solution can be initiated by a seed crystal. ...
6
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0
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775
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How can copper(II) sulfate crystallize outside a glass vial?
I'm making copper sulfate crystals in glasses. Within a few weeks, the copper sulfate seems to crystallize both inside and outside the glass:
(A few weeks after making a new solution)
(Yet another ...
5
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0
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187
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What pH value of 1M sodium crotonate solution supposed to be?
I need to prepare the $\pu{1M}$ solution of sodium crotonate, however, I don't have one in lab, but I do have sodium hydroxide and crotonic acid.
Thus, I calculated that for $\pu{100 mL}$ of $\pu{1M}$ ...
5
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0
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793
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Solubility of PbSO4
The solubility of $\ce{PbSO4(s)}$ increase with the addition of $\ce{H2SO4}.$ Why?
I don't quite understand this. When dissolving $\ce{PbSO4(s)}$ we get the equilibrium equation:
$$\ce{PbSO4(s) <=...
5
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0
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160
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On what factors does the true reaction Stoichiometry depend when there are multiple valid options?
Consider the following unbalanced reaction:
$$\ce{XeF4 + H2O -> Xe + XeO2 + HF + O2}$$
There are six variables to be solved, but only four equations linking them. I solved the set of equations ...
5
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0
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159
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Where is my antimony going?
I work in a trace metals laboratory operating an ICP-OES. I've been having some trouble with the recovery of antimony in a weak $\ce{HCl}$ solution post-digestion.
The antimony is part of a mix of ...
5
votes
1
answer
553
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What does the equilibrium constant mean for reactions with very small concentrations?
When you calculate the equilibrium constant for a reaction with a higher concentration of reactants, the answer is fairly intuitive. For example, for the reaction:
$$\ce{A + B <=> C}$$
when we ...
4
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1
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234
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How does a silver chloride electrode (Ag/AgCl) convert the potential in aqueous solution to the wire?
I am aware of the redox chemistry that happens at the electrode surface, but I'm not sure how exactly a change in electrical potential in the solution would change the potential in the electrode?
4
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86
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Notation for spectral density in experimental community
In an open quantum system setup where the system is coupled to infinite harmonic oscillators as bath (as in the Caldeira leggett model, for example), through the Hamiltonian,
$$H = \frac{\hat{p}^2}{2m}...
4
votes
1
answer
366
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Variation of conductance of saturated aqueous solution with temperature
The following question was asked in JEE Mains 2020:
Let $C_{\ce{NaCl}}$ and $C_{\ce{BaSO4}}$ be the conductances (in S) measured for saturated aqueous solutions of $\ce{NaCl}$ and $\ce{BaSO4}$, ...
4
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585
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What does “at%” mean and how it differs from “mol%”?
Sorry if my question is a bit obvious, but for some reason I'm getting confused with the percentages in this question:
Concentration of $\ce{A}$ is $\pu{80 at\%}$ and concentration of $\ce{B}$ is $...
4
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0
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174
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Using Avogadro's law to find gas volumes
An important step in the preparation of sulfuric acid involves the production of sulfur trioxide ($\ce{SO3}$) from sulfur dioxide ($\ce{SO2}$) and oxygen.
$$\ce{2 SO2 (g) + O2 (g) -> 2 SO3 (g)}$$
...
4
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0
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254
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Why does viscosity decrease when divalent cations are dissolved into aqueous solutions of sodium carboxymethylcellulose?
Sodium Carboxymethylcellulose (CMC/NaCMC/Aqualon) is a common product used in many instances for its unique properties, especially its ability to make solutions viscous. It is well known that the ...
4
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How to break down soap and detergents?
I am building a greywater harvesting system. It is a 3-stage system:
The 1st stage breaks down soap and detergents.
The 2nd stage filters the water.
The 3rd stage pumps water out of system.
What ...
3
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0
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27
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Non-binding buffer at pKa of roughly 6 that dissolves in ethanol?
I'm trying to find a proper buffer for my experiment, which I'd appreciate some suggestions on. I have a solution in which I want to measure the concentration of magnesium ions using a fluorescent ...