The Conjugate Seesaw
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Re: The Conjugate Seesaw
I had a similar question and found a post on chemistry community for it:
viewtopic.php?t=8560
Hope it helps!
viewtopic.php?t=8560
Hope it helps!
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Re: The Conjugate Seesaw
The conjugate seesaw states that the stronger the acid, the weaker its conjugate base. The stronger the base, the weaker its conjugate acid.
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Re: The Conjugate Seesaw
The conjugate seesaw says that the stronger the acid, the weaker that acid's conjugate base. The stronger the base, the weaker that base's conjugate acid. But here's why... We know that Ka * Kb =Kw, and we know that Kw is a the ionization constant of water= 1* 10^-14. Therefore if we have a large Ka, meaning that we have a strong base that dissociates a lot or even completely, then Kb must be small because Ka times Kb is a constant (1*10^-14). The same logic holds with a strong base.
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Re: The Conjugate Seesaw
Ka*Kb = Kw
Kw is always 1.0x10^-14, so is one value increases, the other decreases.
Kw is always 1.0x10^-14, so is one value increases, the other decreases.
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Re: The Conjugate Seesaw
An example of the conjugate seesaw could be NaOH.
NaOH is a strong base, but its conjugate acid, Na+, is so weak that it's basically a neutral cation and won't affect the pH of the solution.
NaOH is a strong base, but its conjugate acid, Na+, is so weak that it's basically a neutral cation and won't affect the pH of the solution.
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Re: The Conjugate Seesaw
MadelineHlobik wrote:Does Kw=Ka*Kb and Kw=[H3O][OH]
Yes, so since Kw = 10^-14, [H30+] has to be 10^-7 and [OH-] has to be 10^-7 as well.
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Re: The Conjugate Seesaw
The conjugate seesaw describes the relationship between conjugate acids and bases. A strong acid has a weak conjugate base. Similarly, a strong base has a weak conjugate acid.
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Re: The Conjugate Seesaw
Kw is always constant, and Ka*Kb=Kw, so if Ka increases, Kb decreases, and vice versa.
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Re: The Conjugate Seesaw
Since Kw is a constant value, the strengths of acids and their conjugate bases (as well as bases and their conjugate acids) are complimentary. That would make sense if you think about it: the stronger an acid/base, the more likely it will stay disassociated and thus its conjugate base will be weaker and less likely to go back to the reactant form.
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Re: The Conjugate Seesaw
Basically, if there is an acid base reaction, the base (on the reactants side) will have a conjugate acid (on the products side), and vice versa. Since this is the case, it may be necessary to convert Ka to Kb (or the other way around) depending on what way you are looking at the reaction.
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Re: The Conjugate Seesaw
In very simple terms the conjugate seesaw basically states that the stronger the base or acid is, the weaker its conjugate acid or base is.
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