Question

The solubility product constant of pbcl2 is 1.7 × 10−5 . what is the maximum concentration of pb2+ that can be in ocean water that contains 0.0500 m nacl?

Answer 1

Answer is: the maximum concentration of Pb²⁺ is 6.8·10⁻³ M.
Chemical reaction 1: PbCl₂(s) → Pb²⁺(aq) + 2Cl⁻(aq).
Chemical reaction 2: NaCl(aq) → Na⁺(aq) + Cl⁻(aq).
Ksp(PbCl₂) = 1.7·10⁻⁵.
c(NaCl) = c(Cl⁻) = 0.0500 M.
Ksp(PbCl₂) = c(Pb²⁺) · c(Cl⁻)².
c(Pb²⁺) = Ksp(PbCl₂) ÷ c(Cl⁻)².
c(Pb²⁺) = 1.7·10⁻⁵ M³ ÷ (0.0500 M)².
c(Pb²⁺) = 0.000017 M³ ÷ 0.0025 M².
c(Pb²⁺) = 0.0068 M = 6.8·10⁻³ M.