2024/03/27 by Antonio Togni · 1 voice
Engineering · Environmental Science · #Water resources management and optimization #Water-Energy-Food Nexus Studies #Environmental Impact and Sustainability
paper · pdf · doi:10.2533/chimia.2024.167
openalex publication_date 2024/03/27 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/05/21
The pKa values of water and the hydrogen ion (proton) in water are 14 and 0, respectively. Yet, many textbooks of general, organic, and, to a lesser extent, inorganic chemistry provide the incorrect values 15.74 and -1.74, respectively. This column briefly introduces the long-standing issue of these two different pairs of values, the consequences it bears when teaching general chemistry, and expresses the hope that it may be solved soon.