Le Chatelier’s Principle and the Solubility of Carbon Dioxide

When carbon dioxide gas dissolves in water, it forms a weakly acidic solution due to the following reversible reaction: {91653_Introduction_Equation_1} The hydrogen ion concentration in solution depends on the amount of dissolved carbon dioxide. In this demonstration, the effect of pressure and temperature on the solubility of carbon dioxide and on the position of equilibrium for this reversible chemical reaction will be studied by measuring the H+ concentration at different pressures and temperatures.