The Endocrine Regulation of Calcium Balance an Example of the Topic Education and science by

The Endocrine Regulation of Calcium Balance Definition of terms in this essay Need essay sample on "The Endocrine Regulation of Calcium Balance" topic? We will write a custom essay sample specifically for you Proceed Calcium balance deals with the regulation of a bodys calcium levels in order to maintain homeostasis. A disruption of this process results in either hypo- or hypercalcemia. Teleost fishes are fishes belonging to teleostei. These bony fishes have movable jaws. This makes them able to extend their mouth while preying. They also have symmetrical or homocercal tails. Amphibians are vertebrate animals that are ectothermic, non amniotic and that respire through their skin. They are usually aquatic during their larval stage but become terrestrial during adulthood. The endocrine system is a system theat deals with the use of hormones produced by glands in the regulation of bodily functions and processes. Endocrine regulation of calcium balance There are several hormones that take part in the endocrine regulation of calcium balance. However, due to morphological differences, the endocrine process of regulating calcium is different between amphibians and teleost fishes. Hypercalcaemic hormones Hypercalcaemic hormones are hormones that increase the calcium levels in the plasma by liberating those in the bone. Parathyroid glands can be found in most amphibians; especially with the anurans. The parathyroid hormone found in amphibians is usually hypercalcaemic, Studies have shown that parathyroid hormone liberates Calcium ions from the bone, increasing the calcium levels in the blood. (YOSHIDA & R. V.TALMAGE, 1962) The removal of the parathyroid gland (Parathyroidectomy) results in a significant decrease of blood calcium levels. Parathyroid hormone works by increasing the production of osteoclases, which are the cause of mobilization bone calcium. (STIFFLER, 1993) Teleost fish lack parathyroid glands. It has been found out however that the pituitary glands of fishes make up for the loss of the parathyroid hormone by excreting other hypercalcaemic hormones like Prolactin (PRL) and Somalactin (SL). (KANEKO & HIRANO, 1993)The removal of the pituitary gland induces hypocacaemia in fishes. (PANG, K.SCHREIBMAN, M. P., & YOGURO, 1975) The use of mammalin Prolactin increased the calcium level of calcium deficient killifish whose pituitary has been removed. (WENDELAAR BONGA & PANG, 1989)Studies in eels have determined that prolactin secretion does not depend on ambient calium levels but on the osmolality or sodium levels of the environment(SUZUKI, KANEKO, & HIRANO, 1991).Prolactin also has the same effect in aquatic amphibians. In fact, aquatic amphibians may rely more on porlactin than o the parathyroid hormone as evidenced by the lack of the parathyroid gland in urodeles. Somalactin is another pituitary hormone that closely resembles the structure of the growth hormobne as well as prolactin. The glycosylation status of SLs reflects the presence or absence of periodic acidSchiff (PAS)-positive cells of the pars intermedia (PIPAS cells) in the pituitary. This means that PIPAS cells canm be used as indicators in measuring the effect of somalactin. However, studies that have measured the hyperglycaemic properties of PIPAS cells are inconclusive as the relation with somalactin is indirect. (KANEKO & HIRANO, 1993) Hypocalcaemic hormones Hypocalcamic hormones are the inverse of hypercalcaemic ones, they lower calcium levels by inducing storage into the bones. The main hypoglycaemic hormone in amphibians is Calcitonin. It is produced in the ultimobranchial glands of the amphibian. It is the main hypoglycaemic hormone in mammals and other vertebrates. In amphibians, studies involving the removal of the ultimobranchial branch show that it leads to an increase in calcium levels while the subsequent application of calcitonin extracts significantly lowers the blood calcium content. (STIFFLER, 1993) Calcitonin is also secreted by fishes from their own ultimobranchial body. However, incestigations unto the hypocalcaemic properties of calcitonin in fishes have failed to produce tangible and unequivocal results. The known hypocalcaemic hormone in fishes is those produced by the corpuscles of Stannius. They are unique to teleostean and holostean fishes. Studies have shown that their removal induces hypercalcaemia. (FONTAINE, 1964)The main substance produced by the corpuscles, stanniocalcin, is regarded as the primary hypocalcaemic hormone in fishes. (WENDELAAR BONGA & PANG, 1991) References FONTAINE, M. (1964). Corpuscles de Stannius et rgulation ionique (Ca, K, Na) du milieu intrieur de languille (Anguilla anguilla L.). C. R. hebd. Sanc. Acad. Sci.(259), 875-878. PANG, P. K. T., K.SCHREIBMAN, R., M. P., S., & YOGURO, C. (1975). Effects of parathyroidectomy on calcium and sodium concentrations of serum and coelomic fluid in bullfrog tadpoles. J. exp. Zool., 192, 293-298. STIFFLER, D. F. (1993). AMPHIBIAN CALCIUM METABOLISM. California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, CA 91768, USA. SUZUKI, R., KANEKO, T., 153. WENDELAAR BONGA, S. E., & PANG, P. K. T. (1989). Pituitary hormones. In Vertebrate Endocrinology: Fundamentals and Biochemical Implications (Vol. 3): San Diego: Academic Press. WENDELAAR BONGA, S. E., 213. YOSHIDA, R., 557.

Profile of Panama for Spanish Students

Profile of Panama for Spanish Students Introduction: Panama historically has had closer ties with the United States than any country in Latin America other than Mexico. The country is known best, of course, for the Panama Canal, which the United States built for both military and trade purposes at the start of the 20th century. The United States maintained sovereignty over parts of Panama until 1999. Vital Statistics: Panama covers an area of 78,200 square kilometers. It had a population of 3 million at the end of 2003 and a growth rate of 1.36 percent (July 2003 estimate). The life expectancy at birth is 72 years. The literacy rate is about 93 percent. The countrys gross domestic product is about $6,000 per person, and a little more than a third of the people live in poverty. The unemployment rate was 16 percent in 2002. Main industries are the Panama Canal and international banking. Linguistic Highlights: Spanish is the official language. About 14 percent speak a creole form of English, and many residents are bilingual in Spanish and English. About 7 percent speak indigenous languages, the largest of them being Ngberre. There are also pockets of Arabic and Chinese speakers. Studying Spanish in Panama: Panama has several small language schools, most of them in Panama City. Most of the schools offer home stays, and costs tend to be low. Tourist Attractions: The Panama Canal is on most visitors must-see list, but those coming for extended stays can find a wide variety of destinations. They include beaches on both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, Darien National Park and cosmopolitan Panama City. Trivia: Panama was the first Latin American country to adopt the U.S. currency as its own. Technically, the balboa is the official currency, but U.S. bills are used for paper money. Panamanian coins are used, however. History: Before the Spanish arrived, what is now Panama was populated by 500,000 or more people from dozens of groups. The largest group was the Cuna, whose earliest origins are unknown. Other major groups included the Guaymà ­ and the Chocà ³. The first Spaniard in the area was Rodrigo de Bastidas, who explored the Atlantic coast in 1501. Christopher Columbus visited in 1502. Both conquest and disease reduced the indigenous population. In 1821 the area was a province of Colombia when Colombia declared its independence from Spain. Building a canal across Panama had been considered as early as the mid 16th century, and in 1880 the French tried - but the attempt ended in the death of some 22,000 workers from yellow fever and malaria. Panamanian revolutionaries secured Panamas independence from Colombia in 1903 with military support from the United States, which quickly negotiated the rights to build a canal and exercise sovereignty over land on both sides. The U.S. started construction of the canal in 1904 and finished the greatest engineering achievement of its time  in 10 years. Relations between the U.S. and Panama in coming decades were strained, largely due to popular Panamanian bitterness over the prominent role of the U.S. In 1977, despite controversies and political snags in both the U.S. and Panama, the countries negotiated an agreement turning over the canal to Panama at the end of the 20th century. In 1989, U.S. President George H.W. Bush sent U.S. troops to Panama to oust and capture Panamanian President Manuel Noriega. He was forcefully brought to the United States, put on trial for drug trafficking and other crimes, and imprisoned.   The treaty turning over the canal was not fully accepted by many political conservatives in the United States. When a ceremony was held in Panama in 1999 to formally turn over the canal, no senior U.S. officials attended.

Issue 4 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Issue 4 - Assignment Example Robert Ramsey, an author, illustrates that embracing the religious perspectives of employees, can result to the never ending unnecessary requests by employees that results to decreased productivity and profitability. The author stresses that business organizations should always keep their interests and objectives top priority, without diverging to non-core activities like allowing employees to wear faith symbols (Susan, 2012). The current workplace is greatly diversified, mainly due to the concept of globalization. This illustrates rich mosaic or integration of staffs from very different religious affiliations. Majority of the multinationals have employees who are Buddhists, Muslims, Jews, Christians and Hindus. International employment laws existing currently prohibit religious discrimination at the employment place. A major workplace dilemma for human resource managers presently is if employees should be given the chance to religious and other external symbols (Rao, 2013). The Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) during 2008 explained that 64% of the companies under study have diverse religious workforce. This shows that a great number of employees are religiously diverse, due to immigrants from different world faiths. Demographic experts illustrate that people and hence employees from other faiths like Buddhists, Islam and Hindus, continuously increase with a likely effect of turning the protest ant faith look like the minority. Supporters of the workplace faith diversity explain that it is unfair for managers to expect the employees to ignore religious expressions and values during work. Organizations can effectively accept the diversity and ethnicity of their staffs, through adequate acknowledgement and understanding of their faith. Majority of the leading multinationals have adopted religion-friendly methods of operation. Companies like Ford Motors and also Coca Cola have given employees

Vipassana Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Vipassana - Essay Example In 528 BCE, after his enlightenment, the Buddha spent the 45 years of his life that remained teaching on the way out of suffering. Vipassana symbolizes the most vital part of his teachings. For 5 centuries, millions of people in the Buddha’s homeland- India were helped by Vipassana. However, after around 500 years, the practice had vanished from India. Luckily, an uninterrupted chain of meditation teachers in the neighboring country of Burma maintained it until the present day. In recent times, the practice of Vipassana has been to India and to individuals worldwide. This has been done by a retired industrialist named S. N. Goenka. He is of Indian heritage but was born in Burma. Mr. Goenka was taught the technique of Vipassana by Sayagyi U Ba Khin. U Ba Khin was a famous lay Vipassana teacher and was the first one to teach westerners in English. In 1969, Goenka was appointed by U Ba Khin to teach Vipassana (Hart, 1987). Vipassana is translated to mean ‘insight’. It utilizes awareness to take note of all details of our physical as well as mental experiences from time to time with an attitude that is without bias. There are three methods of practicing Vipassana. The main focus of all three is on breathing and the difference is the points on which attention is focused when breathing. The first method involves watching the belly. The belly is regarded as the location where the Hara center is. The Hara is a point of awareness that is regarded as the center of one’s subtle body. It is found just behind and below the navel. One can easily achieve a meditative state of mind by focusing their attention on the Hara center (Catherine, 2011). The second method is watching the coolness in the nostril. When the air enters an individual’s body through the nostril, it creates a little coolness that is soothing. This method involves focusing one’s attention on this

The role of the IMF in helping poor and debt-troubled countries Research Paper

The role of the IMF in helping poor and debt-troubled countries - Research Paper Example The IMF is tasked with the role of assisting nations suffice their budgets or invest in areas that positively influence the social welfare or the economy of a country. Most of the support activities that IMF undertakes are backed by global policies. An example is the IMF helps less developed nation to improve health care, education and security which is in line with the United Nations Millennium Development goals. Another reason why the IMF helps poor nation is to stabilize nations in economic and social terms. A debt ridden country has a high probability of social disorder, thus more economic failures (Ghosh, Zalduendo, Thomas, Ramakrishnan, Kim &Joshi 2008). Globalization has ensured that all nations are interlinked economically, thus, failure of an economy to meet its obligations can impact on the global economy, which might lead to a crisis. Despite the fact that the IMF is tasked to issue loans to member countries, there are several conditions that must be met as part of eligibility criteria. First, a country is supposed to design a program that is supposed to address the problem that has made it resort to the IMF for assistance (IMF Factsheet). Before the IMF considers a loan, country must identify the causes of the deficit and the strategies that are in place to mitigate the situation. In deficits situations, the IMF holds that countries should engage in activities that try to resolve the deficit since it affects other economies of the world. Second, the International Monetary Fund should be allowed to assess the programs that are under its support. This is meant to ensure that funds are channeled to the intended functions. Moreover, the process also ensures that the intended benefits are realized. The assessment programs are mostly conducted in less developed nations due to inefficiencies, misappropriation and also embezzlement of funds by few individuals. The institution employs structural benchmarks that are meant to protect IMF interests in the

Stonehenge :: essays research papers

I. On Salisbury Plain in Southern England stands Stonehenge, the most famous of all megalithic sites. Stonehenge is unique among the monuments of the ancient world. Isolated on a windswept plain, built by a people with no written language, Stonehenge challenges our imagination. The impressive stone circle stands near the top of a gently sloping hill on Salisbury Plain about thirty miles from the English Channel. The stones are visible over the hills for a mile or two in every direction. Stonehenge is one of over fifty thousand prehistoric "megalithics" in Europe. As Stonehenge is approached, the forty giant stones seem to touch the sky. Most of the stones stand twenty-four or more feet high. Some stones weigh as much as forty tons. Others are smaller, weighing only five tons. At first glance, the stones may seem to be a natural formation. But a closer look shows that only human imagination and determination could have created Stonehenge. II. The Stonehenge today looks quite different from the Stonehenge of old. Wind and weather have destroyed a little of Stonehenge over the ages. People have destroyed much more. Today, less than half of the original stones still stand as their builders planned. Many of the once upright stones lie on their sides. Religious fanatics, who felt threatened by the mysteries posed by Stonehenge, knocked over many of the standing stones. They toppled some of the huge stones, which then split into pieces; they buried others. Other stones were "quarried" over the centuries as free building material and hauled away. Even into this century, visitors have come with hammers to carry away a chip of stone with them. III. Only in recent years have the stones been protected from the huge amounts of people that see them every year. No longer can anyone roam among the stones. Too much damage, intentional or not, has been done by the hundreds of thousands of visitors. Today, tourists are even prevented from walking between the stones for fear that the millions of footsteps every year might make the stones unstable. IV. The twelfth-century English writer and historian, Geoffrey of Monmouth, first recorded Merlin's building of Stonehenge in his famous book History of the Kings of Britain. Geoffrey claimed that his book was a translation of "a certain very ancient book written in the British language." However, no other scholar or historian knows of the existence of such a book. According to Geoffrey, the great stones were brought from Ireland to England to mark the burial place of a group of slain British princes.

The Ka and Molar Mass of a Monoprotic Weak Acid

The Ka and Molar Mass of a Monoprotic Weak Acid Chemistry Lab 152 Professor: James Giles November 7, 2012 Abstract: The purpose of this experiment was to determine the pKa, Ka, and molar mass of an unknown acid (#14). The pKa was found to be 3. 88, the Ka was found to be 1. 318 x 10 -4, and the molar mass was found to be 171. 9 g/mol. Introduction Acids differ considerable as to their strength. The difference between weak and strong acids can be as much as 10 orders of magnitude.Strong acids dissociate more completely than weak acids, meaning they produce higher concentrations of the conjugate base anion (A-) and the hydronium cation (H30+) in solution. HA(aq) + H20 (( A- + H3O+ With the following formula the degree to which an acid dissociates (Ka) can be calculated and given a numerical value. Ka = [A-][H3O+] / [HA] Ka is the conventional way of measuring an acid’s strength. The purpose of this experiment was to determine the Ka of an unknown acid, along with its pKa and mol ar mass. Experimental The unknown acid for this experiment was #14.The experiment began with the preparation and standardization of NaOH solution. It was calculated that 2. 00 grams of NaOH pellets were needed to prepare 0. 5 L of 0. 1 M NaOH solution. The solution was then standardized by conducting three titration trials. It was calculated that 0. 7148 grams of KHP were necessary to neutralize 35 mL of the 0. 1 M NaOH. Three samples of KHP were weighed approximating this number (Table 1). Each sample was mixed with 40 mL of deionized water and 2 drops of phenolphthalein in 3 Erlenmeyer flasks. Each flask was then titrated with the NaOH to a light pink endpoint.The volumes of NaOH were recorded, averaged, and the standardized. The molarity of the NaOH was found to be 0. 0981. Assuming a molar mass of 100 g/mol, it was calculated that 0. 3930 g of acid was needed to neutralize 40 mL of the standardized NaOH solution. This amount was weighed out on an electronic balance to full preci sion and added to a clean 250 mL beaker. The acid was first diluted with 10 mL of isopropanol and then 90 mL of water. A pH meter was immersed in the acid solution and an initial pH reading of 2. 61 was recorded.A buret filled with the NaOH solution was incrementally added to the acid solution and the changing pH values were recorded (Table 2). As the pH meter approached the equivalence point the amount of NaOH added each time was reduced. As the Table 2 shows, the pH rose significantly with the addition of little NaOH over this interval. This information was plotted using Graphical Analysis producing a titration curve graph of pH vs. NaOH (Graph 1). Additional calculations and graphs were produced to help identify the equivalence point: ? pH/? V vs. NaOH (Graph 2) and Vtotal x 10-ph vs. NaOH (Graph 3) Tables and CalculationsPreparation of 500 mL of 0. 1 M NaOH M = moles / volume 0. 1 M NaOH = moles NaOH / 0. 5 L H20 = 0. 05 moles NaOH 0. 05 moles NaOH x 39. 986 g/mol NaOH = 1. 99 g NaOH Preparation of KHP 0. 1 M NaOH = moles NaOH / 0. 035 mL NaOH = . 0035 moles NaOH 0. 0035 moles KHP x 204. 233 g/mole KHP = 0. 7148 g KHP Table 1: NaOH Titration Trials |Trial |KHP |NaOH (to titrate to endpoint) | | |(grams) |(mL) | |1 |0. 7159 |35. 75 | |2 |0. 7147 |35. 65 | |3 |0. 7149 |35. | | | | Avg. 35. 66 | Standardization of NaOH 0. 0035 moles NaOH / . 03566 mL NaOH = 0. 0981 M NaOH Table 2: pH vs. NaOH Values |NaOH |pH |NaOH |pH |NaOH |pH |NaOH |pH | |(mL) | |(mL) | |(mL) | |(mL) | | |0 |2. 61 |19. 2 |4. 54 |22. 15 |6. 56 |25. 4 |9. 74 | |2 |2. 94 |19. 4 |4. 58 |22. 2 |6. 2 |25. 9 |9. 82 | |4 |3. 18 |19. 6 |4. 61 |22. 25 |6. 87 |26. 4 |9. 96 | |5 |3. 3 |19. 8 |4. 65 |22. 3 |6. 98 |26. 9 |10. 02 | |6 |3. 4 |20 |4. 68 |22. 35 |7. 06 |27. 4 |10. 11 | |7 |3. 49 |20. 2 |4. 72 |22. 4 |7. 14 |28. 4 |10. 21 | |8 |3. 58 |20. 4 |4. 77 |22. 5 |7. 24 |29. 4 |10. 1 | |9 |3. 66 |20. 6 |4. 84 |22. 6 |7. 44 |31. 4 |10. 46 | |10 |3. 73 |20. 8 |4. 88 |22. 7 |7. 58 |33. 4 |10. 58 | |11 | 3. 88 |21 |4. 94 |22. 8 |7. 73 |35. 4 |10. 67 | |12 |3. 91 |21. 2 |5. 02 |22. 9 |7. 89 |36. 4 |10. 75 | |13 |3. 97 |21. 4 |5. 11 |23 |8. 03 |39. 4 |10. 87 | |14 |4. 04 |21. |5. 25 |23. 1 |8. 17 |42. 4 |10. 96 | |15 |4. 11 |21. 7 |5. 32 |23. 2 |8. 38 |44. 4 |11. 02 | |16 |4. 19 |21. 8 |5. 45 |23. 3 |8. 51 | | | |16. 5 |4. 24 |21. 85 |5. 52 |23. 4 |8. 65 | | | |17 |4. 29 |21. 9 |5. 62 |23. 6 |8. 92 | | | |17. 5 |4. 34 |21. 95 |5. 71 |23. 8 |9. 9 | | | |18 |4. 4 |22 |5. 86 |24. 1 |9. 27 | | | |18. 5 |4. 45 |22. 05 |6. 1 |24. 4 |9. 39 | | | |19 |4. 52 |22. 1 |6. 4 |24. 9 |9. 62 | | | Graph 1: pH vs. NaOH Titration Curve [pic] Estimated volume of NaOH at equivalence point based on titration curve: 22. 30 mL NaOH. Table 3: ? pH/? V vs. NaOH Values |NaOH |? pH/? V |NaOH |? pH/? V |NaOH |? pH/?V |NaOH |? pH/? V | |(mL) | |(mL) | |(mL) | |(mL) | | |2 |0. 12 |19. 2 |0. 2 |22. 1 |3. 2 |24. 4 |0. 46 | |4 |0. 12 |19. 4 |0. 15 |22. 15 |3. 2 |24. 9 |0. 24 | |5 |0. 1 |19. 6 |0. 2 |22. 2 |3 |25. 4 | 0. 16 | |6 |0. 09 |19. 8 |0. 15 |22. 25 |2. 2 |25. 9 |0. 28 | |7 |0. 9 |20 |0. 2 |22. 3 |1. 6 |26. 4 |0. 12 | |8 |0. 08 |20. 2 |0. 2 |22. 35 |1. 6 |26. 9 |0. 18 | |9 |0. 07 |20. 4 |0. 35 |22. 4 |1 |27. 4 |0. 1 | |10 |0. 15 |20. 6 |0. 2 |22. 5 |2 |28. 4 |0. 1 | |11 |0. 03 |20. 8 |0. 3 |22. 6 |1. 4 |29. 4 |0. 075 | |12 |0. 06 |21 |0. |22. 7 |1. 5 |31. 4 |0. 06 | |13 |0. 07 |21. 2 |0. 45 |22. 8 |1. 6 |33. 4 |0. 045 | |14 |0. 07 |21. 4 |0. 7 |22. 9 |0. 1 |35. 4 |0. 08 | |15 |0. 08 |21. 6 |0. 7 |23 |1. 4 |36. 4 |0. 04 | |16 |0. 1 |21. 7 |1. 3 |23. 1 |2. 1 |39. 4 |0. 03 | |16. 5 |0. 1 |21. 8 |1. 4 |23. 2 |1. |42. 4 |0. 03 | |17 |0. 1 |21. 85 |2 |23. 3 |1. 4 | | | |17. 5 |0. 12 |21. 9 |1. 8 |23. 4 |1. 35 | | | |18 |0. 1 |21. 95 |3 |23. 6 |0. 85 | | | |18. 5 |0. 14 |22 |4. 8 |23. 8 |0. 3 | | | |19 |0. 1 |22. 05 |6 |24. 1 |0. 4 | | |Graph 2: ? pH/? V vs. NaOH [pic] Estimated volume of NaOH at equivalence point based on ? pH/? V vs. NaOH graph: 22. 30 mL NaOH. Table 4: Vtotal x 10-ph vs. NaOH Values |NaOH |Vtotal x 10-ph |NaOH |Vtotal x 10-ph | |(mL) | |(mL) | | |19. 8 |0. 000443 |21. 6 |0. 000121 | |20 |0. 000417 |21. 7 |0. 000104 | |20. 2 |0. 000385 |21. 8 |7. 70E-05 | |20. 4 |0. 000346 |21. 85 |6. 60E-05 | |20. 6 |0. 000298 |21. 9 |5. 0E-05 | |20. 8 |0. 000274 |21. 95 |4. 30E-05 | |21 |0. 000241 |22 |3. 00E-05 | |21. 2 |0. 000202 |22. 05 |1. 80E-05 | |21. 4 |0. 000166 | | | Graph 3: Vtotal x 10-ph vs. NaOH [pic] Estimated volume NaOH at equivalence point based on Vtotal x 10-ph vs. NaOH graph: 22. 20 mL NaOH Calculating Ka of Unknown Acid pH at ? equivalence point volume: 3. 88 Ka = 10 -3. 88 = 1. 318 x 10 -4 Ka = 1. 318 x 10-4 Calculating the Molar Mass of the Unknown Acid 0. 0981 M NaOH = moles acid / . 02330 L NaOH = 0. 023 moles acid 0. 3930 g acid / 0. 0023 moles acid = 171. 9 g/mol Analysis of Error There is a high degree of agreement among the 3 graphs and therefore a low degree of error in this experiment. According to the Graphical Analysis program, Graphs 1 and 2 indicated that the total volume of NaOH at the equivalence point was 22. 30 mL. Graph 3 indicated a volume of 22. 20 mL, a difference of 0. 1 mL. Discussion Based upon the range of possible values for Ka, anywhere from 3. 2 x 109 for Hydroiodic acid (one of the strongest) to 5. 8 x 10-10 for Boric acid (one of the weakest), this experiment’s unknown acid solution (Ka = 1. 18 x 10-4) falls roughly in the lower quarter of strength. This estimate fits its titration curve. In general, strong acids quickly go from a very low pH to a very high pH, e. g. , 2 to 12, while weak acids quickly go from a lower pH to a higher pH, e. g. , 6 to 10. The unknown solution for this experiment jump from 5 to 10 pH, which is consistent with a Ka of 1. 318 x 10-4 and a weaker acid. References Darrell D. Ebbing and Steven D Gammon, General Chemistry, 9th ed. Cengage Learning: Ohio, 2009. Department of Physical Science—Chemistry, Mesa Community College. The Ka and Molar Mass of a Monop rotic Weak Acid (handout).