Weak bases

[Jayza Calderon 2A]

What are some examples of weak bases?

[Ethan Wang 1L]

The general trend with weak bases seems to be those that aren't entirely or mostly ionic in character--for example, KOH and Ca(OH)2 are strong bases because potassium and calcium are metals, so their bond to OH- has strong ionic character. In general, though, it's best to memorize the few strong bases and consider all the rest weak.

[William_Hora_2H]

It may be easier to identify examples of strong bases and deem any non-examples of strong bases, weak bases. In general, most Group 1 and 2 metal hydroxides (metal-OH) are strong bases; most other bases are weak.

[Konmal Ali 1G]

Weak bases are usually not fully ionized in aqueous solutions. Usually weak bases tend to have an OH or a N. Some examples of weak bases include NH3 and (CH3)2NH. Weak bases are found mostly under two categories of amines or ammonia. I hope this helps!

[Sasha Gladkikh 2A]

Hi,

There are MANY weak bases. So, when given a molecular formula, I always first determine whether or not it is a strong base, as there are only 2 types.

Strong bases are defined as:
• Group 1 + 2 metal hydroxides (e.g., LiOH, Ca(OH)₂)
• Group 1 + 2 metal oxides (e.g., Li₂O, CaO)

Any base that does not meet the above characteristics is therefore a weak base. Some examples include NH₃ (ammonia), Al(OH)₃, and CH₃NH₂ (methylamine).

[hanniaghernandez]

Adding on to this, does anyone have good tips on how to fully memorize which ones are acids and which ones are bases, along with which are strong and which are weak?

[Joseph Ettipio]

Instead of memorizing the weak bases, its a better idea to memorize the strong bases, 6 of the most common being LiOH, NaOH, KOH, Ca(OH)2, Sr(OH)2 and Ba(OH)2. Then you can automatically assume that anything besides the strong bases are weak since there are only two categories that they can fall into (unless you consider superbases).

[Terrence Chi]

Hi, weak bases does not ionize fully in an aqueous solution and some common weak bases are ammonia (NH3) and trimethylamine (N(CH3)3). Hope this helps!