15.

Topic: Strength of
bases
Learning objectives
IWBAT

Analyse strong and weak

bases by its dissociation.
List the relative strength of
conjugate acid- base pairs
through their properties.
Predict the direction of acid-
base reactions by solving
problems
 Warm Up
Classify each of the following species as a weak
or strong acid: (a) HNO3 (b) HF (c) H2SO4
(d) HSO4 (e) H2CO3 (f) HCO3 (g) HCl
(h) HCN (i) HNO2
 Engage

Create a list of strong and weak

bases?
Analyze the table below and share your understanding

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 Properties of conjugate acid-base pairs

Consider the following equations

1. HCl + H2O H3O+ + Cl-
If an acid is strong, its conjugate base has no
measurable strength. Thus the Cl- ion, which is the
conjugate base of the strong acid HCl, is an
extremely weak base.
2. F- + H2O OH- + HF
OH- is the strongest conjugate base of an acid H2O
and HF is the conjugate acid of F- base.
 15.7

Predict the direction of the following reaction in aqueous

solution:

HNO2(aq) + CN-(aq) HCN(aq) + NO-2 (aq)

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 15.7

Strategy

The problem is to determine whether, at equilibrium, the

reaction will be shifted to the right, favoring HCN and NO-2, or to
the left, favoring HNO2 and CN-. Which of the two is a stronger
acid and hence a stronger proton donor: HNO2 or HCN? Which
of the two is a stronger base and hence a stronger proton
-
acceptor: CN or- NO 2 ? Remember that the stronger the acid,
the weaker its conjugate base.

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 15.7

Solution

In Table 15.2 we see that HNO2 is a stronger acid than HCN.

Thus, CN- is a stronger base than NO-2 . The net reaction will
proceed from left to right as written because HNO2 is a better
proton donor than HCN (and CN- is a better proton acceptor
-
than NO 2 ).

10
 Practice problem(I Do)
Evaluate
Predict the direction of the given reaction:

F- + H2O HF + OH-
 Exit ticket

• Write feedback in terms of success criteria?