Question

Short answer

The mass percentage of silver perchlorate in solution indicates that it is more soluble in water than in aqueous perchloric acid since more silver perchlorate is present in the water solution. Dissolution of silver perchlorate in water occurs by the following reaction.

${\text{AgClO}}_4\left(s\right)\rightleftharpoons A{g}^{+}\left(aq\right)+Cl{O}_4^{-}\left(aq\right)$

Step-by-step solution

Step-by-Step SolutionStep 1: For silver perchlorate

The mass percentage of silver perchlorate in solution indicates that it is more soluble in water than in aqueous perchloric acid since more silver perchlorate is present in the water solution. Dissolution of silver perchlorate in water occurs by the following reaction.

${\text{AgClO}}_4\left(s\right)\rightleftharpoons A{g}^{+}\left(aq\right)+Cl{O}_4^{-}\left(aq\right)$

For perchloric acid

When placed in water, there are no counterions present to shift the equilibrium. Perchloric acid reacts with water in the following manner.

$HCl{O}_4\left(aq\right)+H_{2}O\left(l\right)\to H_3{O}^{+}\left(aq\right)+Cl{O}_4^{-}\left(aq\right)$

Note that since perchloric acid is a strong acid, it can be assumed that its dissociation occurs completely. In other words, its acidity constant is much greater than one.

The reaction of perchloric acid produces the perchlorate anion, , which is also produced in the dissolution reaction of silver perchlorate. The presence of this counterion shifts the equilibrium of the dissolution reaction to the left, decreasing the solubility of silver perchlorate in aqueous perchloric acid.