Note 217 — Chapter VI · CHEMICAL EQUILIBRIUM. THE LAW OF MASS ACTION
Reading edition
The calculation of the condition of equilibrium can be made, with sufficient accuracy for our purpose, as follows: The denominator 0.9958 in the original proportion, being near its limit (its highest possible value is 1 in a molar solution), cannot change appreciably. Consequently, when the one factor in the numerator, [CH3CO2−], is made 0.53 / 0.0042, or 126 times as large as it was, the other factor, [H+], to maintain a constant proportion, must be made 1 / 126th of its original value and 0.0042 / 126 = 0.000,034. For more exact work, the new concentrations of the three components may be found by solving a simple quadratic equation.