Acids and Bases. How to tell if a compound is an acid or base or neautral?

Click For Summary

Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around identifying whether a compound, specifically Na2CO3, is an acid, base, or neutral in an aqueous solution. Participants explore concepts related to acids and bases, including the properties of carbonic acid and the behavior of salts in solution.

Discussion Character

  • Homework-related
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant asks for help determining the nature of Na2CO3 in an aqueous solution.
  • Another participant questions the strength of carbonic acid and its implications for understanding the behavior of Na2CO3.
  • There is a request for clarification on how to approach the problem without relying on external sources, indicating a desire to understand the underlying concepts.
  • Participants discuss the general behavior of strong and weak acids and bases, particularly in the context of reactions between them.
  • One participant emphasizes the importance of showing attempts at solving the question as per forum policy.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express varying levels of understanding and struggle with the concepts, indicating that there is no consensus on how to approach the problem or the nature of Na2CO3.

Contextual Notes

Participants mention the need to consider the strength of acids and bases, but there are unresolved questions about the definitions and implications of these terms in the context of the discussion.

Who May Find This Useful

This discussion may be useful for students learning about acids and bases, particularly in the context of aqueous solutions and the properties of specific compounds like Na2CO3 and carbonic acid.

Raishah
Messages
4
Reaction score
0
I've been given a question on how to tell whether a compound is an acid or base or neautral in an aquesous solution.

Na2CO3

Please help.
 
Physics news on Phys.org
This is important! Please help me.
 
In this particular case - what do you know about carbonic acid? Is it strong, or weak? What do you know about salts of strong acids? What do you know about salts of weak acids?

Also please read forum rules. You have to show your attempts at solving the question to receive help. This is a forum policy.
 
Well, I'm in grade 12, and I'm struggling. I was wondering, How do I figure out the ph without googling it, I did spend hours trying to find the answer, that didn't involve googling the actual answer, but all that really did was throw words in my head, and confused me til no end. I don't know much about carbonic acid, I guess I'm not asking what the answer is, but more, how do I get to it without searching various factors of the carbonic acid.
 
First of all - is it a strong acid, or a weak acid?
 
Raishah said:
I've been given a question on how to tell whether a compound is an acid or base or neautral in an aquesous solution.

Na2CO3

Please help.

What happens to a compound like Na2CO3 in an aqueous solution?

What happens when an acid and a base react?
- If a solution contained a strong acid and a strong base (and vice versa) what would the resulting solution be? Acidic or basic?

Answer those questions and think about it.
 

Similar threads

Chemistry Why is HCl an Arrhenius acid but hydrogen carbonate isn't?
  • · Replies 4 ·
Replies
4
Views
2K
Chemistry Are there typos in this snippet causing confusion?
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
2K
Chemistry Book seems to say that we can have weak acid and weak conjugate base
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
2K
Chemistry Is pH of strong acid strong base titration always 7 at stoichiometric point?
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
2K
Chemistry How to take into account autoprotolysis in weak base solution?
  • · Replies 8 ·
Replies
8
Views
3K
Chemistry Understanding how to calculate pH of a buffer solution
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
2K
Chemistry How to calculate pH at equivalence point using this alternative?
  • · Replies 7 ·
Replies
7
Views
2K
Chemistry Why Should the Mole Ratio in Alkaline Buffers Be 5:1 Base to Acid?
  • · Replies 3 ·
Replies
3
Views
3K
Chemistry Finding indicator for acid-base titration
  • · Replies 7 ·
Replies
7
Views
3K
Chemistry Help with Complex Acid-Base Titration
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
2K