Brønsted Acid-Base Equilibria
Five acid-base equilibria are shown below. In each equation the two
reactants on the left side of the equilibrium are designated A &
B; the two reactants on the right are designated C &
D. In the first equation, the charges of ionic reactants are shown;
for the other four reactions these charges are omitted. In the fifth
equation, H2CO3 is reactant C and
NH3 is D. NaCl is an inert product. A table of
pKa values is provided at the bottom of the page.
For each equilibrium, three questions are posed:
- Which reactants function as Brønsted acids? [Two letters (A through D) should be entered in the answer box.]
- Which reactant is the stronger base? [One letter (A through D) should be entered in the answer box.]
- Which side of the equilibrium is favored? [Two letters (AB or CD) should be entered in the answer box.]
| Reactant A + Reactant B | ![]() |
Reactant C + Reactant D | Which act as acids? |
Which is the stronger base? |
Which side is favored? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (CH3)3COH + Na(+) OH(–) | ![]() |
(CH3)3CO(–) Na(+) + H2O | Enter two letters |
Enter one letter |
Enter two letters |
| HF + CH3CO2Na | ![]() |
NaF + CH3CO2H | Enter two letters |
Enter one letter |
Enter two letters |
| NaSH + C6H5OH | ![]() |
H2S + C6H5ONa | Enter two letters |
Enter one letter |
Enter two letters |
| NaCN + Na2HPO4 | ![]() |
Na3PO4 + HCN | Enter two letters |
Enter one letter |
Enter two letters |
| NaHCO3 + NH4Cl | ![]() |
H2CO3 + NH3 + NaCl | Enter two letters |
Enter one letter |
Enter two letters |
| Acid | HCl | H3O(+) | H3PO4 | HF | CH3CO2H | H2CO3 | H2S | NH4(+) | HCN | C6H5OH | H2O | (CH3)3COH | NH3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| pKa | -7 | -1.7 | 2.2 7.2 12.3 |
3.2 | 4.7 | 6.4 10.3 |
7.0 | 9.2 | 9.3 | 10.0 | 15.7 | 19 | 34 |

