Acids and bases: Arrhenius, Bronsted–Lowry, Lewis concepts
Ionic Equilibrium · Chemistry
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Study notes
Identify the Brønsted-Lowry acid and base, and their conjugate pairs, in the reaction of ammonia with water: NH3 + H2O -> NH4+ + OH-. Step 1: Look at what happens to the hydrogen ions (protons) during the reaction. Step 2: Notice that NH3 turns into NH4+ by gaining a hydrogen ion (proton). Since NH3 accepts a proton, it acts as a Brønsted-Lowry base. Step 3: Notice that H2O turns into OH- by losing a hydrogen ion (proton). Since H2O donates a proton, it acts as a Brønsted-Lowry acid. Step 4: Find the conjugate pairs by looking at who turned into what. NH3 gained a proton to become NH4+, so NH3 and NH4+ form a conjugate base-acid pair. H2O lost a proton to become OH-, so H2O and OH- form a conjugate acid-base pair.