44 PROPERTIES OF ELECTRICALLY CONDUCTING SYSTEMS 



TABLE VIII. 

 VALUES OF K FOR TRICHLOROBUTYRIC ACID IN WATER AT 25. 



V A K X 100 



5.90 237.3 18.3 



11.80 276.8 17.4 



23.59 308.5 15.9 



38.63 326.4 14.8 



47.18 331.8 14.0 



53.98 336.0 13.9 



77.26 343.9 12.7 



107.96 350.4 11.8 



154.5 357.0 11.5 



215.9 361.2 10.9 



309.0 365.1 10.5 



431.8 368.2 10.7 



618.0 370.9 (11.6) 



oo 376.0* 



observed that the function K decreases throughout as the concentration 

 decreases, but that the decrease is more marked at higher concentrations 

 and that, apparently, at lower concentrations a limiting value is ap- 

 proached. The slight variation in the value of K at the lowest con- 

 centrations may be due either to experimental errors or to a discrepancy 

 in the value of A . In general, we may say that electrolytes, such as 

 acetic acid, fulfill the condition that in the more dilute solutions the 

 function K remains substantially constant. The same holds true in the 

 case of the weak bases. 



Obviously, these results afford strong confirmative evidence of the 

 correctness of the fundamental assumption that these electrolytes are 

 ionized in solution according to a reaction equation of the following type: 



CH 3 COOH = CH 3 COO- + H+. 



On the other hand, when we proceed to a consideration of typical salts, 

 or what are commonly known as strong electrolytes, we find that K ap- 

 pears throughout to be a function of the concentration, its value decreas- 

 ing as the concentration decreases. 



Below are given the values of the function K at a series of concen- 

 trations for solutions of potassium chloride in water at 18: 33 



" The manner in which K varies with the concentration at very low concentrations 

 is uncertain, since small errors in the extrapolated value of A cause a large variation 

 in the resulting value of the function K. The values here given are based on the va 

 A derived by the author. J. Am. Chem. Soc. W,\ (1920). Compare, also, Weiland, 



