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Conjugate ions
Assume that we add hydrochloric acid to water.
HCl + H
2
O -->
Both reactants, hydrochloric acid and water, have a zero overall charge.
Now to show the reaction:
HCl + H
2
O --> H
3
O
+
+ Cl
-
Both products have an overall charge:
H
3
O
+
has a positive charge
Cl
-
has a negative charge
The overall charges of the reactants sum to zero, and the overall charges of the products sum to zero.
0 + 0 = 0 for the reactants
(+1) + (-1) = 0 for the products
We refer to H
3
O
+
and Cl
-
as conjugate ions.
H
3
O
+
is the conjugate ion of Cl
-
.
Cl
-
is the conjugate ion of H
3
O
+
If we mix sulfuric acid (H
2
SO
4
) and water, the conjugate ions would be
HSO
4
-
H
3
O
+
For a base such as NaOH, a simple dissociation occurs:
NaOH(s) + H
2
O(l) --> Na
+
(aq) + OH
-
(aq) + H
2
O(l)
For a base such as ammonia (NH
3
, see below:
NH
3
(g) + H
2
O(l) --> NH
4
+
+ OH
-
You may see a bottle of ammonium hydroxide labeled NH
4
OH. Ammonium hydroxide is the result of bubbling ammonia gas through water.
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Last Revised 02/03/98.
Copyright ©1998 by William L. Dechent. All rights reserved.
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