How does acetate dissociate

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Journal of Biological Chemistry , 81 2 , Chemistry Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for scientists, academics, teachers, and students in the field of chemistry. It only takes a minute to sign up. Connect and share knowledge within a single location that is structured and easy to search. I'm having a difficulty understanding the following quote from Wikipedia - Dissociation :. Acetic acid is extremely soluble in water, but most of the compound dissolves into molecules, rendering it a weak electrolyte.

To what non-ionic molecules can acetic acid be dissolved? Since acetic acid is a weak acid, the equilibrium position lies well to the left, with only a small fraction of the acetic acid molecules reacting to form ethanoate and hydronium ions. The presence of this small amount of ions results in aqueous acetic acid being a weak electrolyte.

Since the vast majority of acetic acid molecules do not dissociate when a sample is dissolved in water, the solubility has to do with the interactions between acetic acid molecules and water molecules. Water has a network of hydrogen bonds between molecules in its liquid phase and so when a substance dissolves in water this bonding is disrupted.

However, acetic acid is able to form many new hydrogen bonds to water molecules and so this results in a highly favourable interaction, leading to the high solubility of acetic acid in water. I think the Wikipedia page you quote is poorly worded. Nothing, in my opinion. A better wording is discussed below.

There is practically no ionisation in glacial acetic acid, i. So before dissolution, we are dealing with molecules of acetic acid. The acidity constant shown in the equation is a measure of how many molecules are dissociated; it depends on the concentration. Since they are few in number, conductivity is low. Getting back to the original quote.

A better wording would emphasise that they do not change. For example:. Acetic acid is extremely soluble in water, but most of the dissolved compound remains as molecules, rendering it a weak electrolyte. Acetic acid is extremely soluble in water, but only a small fraction is dissociated into ions, rendering it a weak electrolyte. Sign up to join this community.