What Does the Acid Ionization Constant Tell You? An Organic Chemistry Student Guide

Many students find the transition from first-year general chemistry to second-year organic chemistry a daunting task. There are many reasons for this, not the least of which is their lack of a solid understanding and appreciation of the importance of some basic concepts and principles from general chemistry that play an extremely critical role in organic chemistry. One such concept is the ?log of the acid dissociation constant, pKa. This article reviews eleven key organic chemical outcomes that can be predicted from knowledge of pKa, highlighting its exceptional value as a physical quantity.