Tooth Enamel Is Composed of the Mineral Hydroxyapatite

Multiple Choice

Tooth enamel is composed of the mineral hydroxyapatite. It is essentially insoluble in water with K_sp  2.3  10^59, but it reacts with weak acids in the mouth as described by one of the reaction equations below. You can determine the equilibrium constant, K, for this reaction from K_sp and K_w (the equilibrium constant for water autoionization) . How do you do this?

A) K  K_wK_sp
B) K  K_w /K_sp
C) K  K_sp /K_w
D) K  K_w  K_sp
E) K  K_w  K_sp