Textbook problem 6C.17

[connie ma 3G]

"Which is the stronger base, the hypobromite ion, BrO-, or
morphine, C17H19O3N? Justify your answer."

How would we answer this without knowing the pKb values that the answer guide references?

[Sonel Raj 3I]

From what I know, since C17H19O3N has a N with a lone pair of electrons, it would be an ammine. Ammines are generally considered weak bases. BrO- is the conjugate base of HBrO, a weak acid. Therefore, it would most likely be considered a stronger base than morphine (the weaker the acid, the stronger its conjugate base).

[Joyce Pang 2H]

Compounds derived from ammonia, in this case C17H19O3N, are generally weak bases. Knowing that, you can probably assume BrO- is a stronger base.

[Eve Gross-Sable 1B]

From what I know, since C17H19O3N has a N with a lone pair of electrons, it would be an ammine. Ammines are generally considered weak bases. BrO- is the conjugate base of HBrO, a weak acid. Therefore, it would most likely be considered a stronger base than morphine (the weaker the acid, the stronger its conjugate base).

I'm still a little confused about this, how do you know if something is an ammine? And to clarify, you're saying that BrO- is the stronger base because it conjugates with HBrO which is a weak acid right? I think I get that part, just unsure about the ammine. Thanks!

[Raashi Chaudhari 3B]

Just by going off of the previous posts I understand why BrO- is the stronger base, but would we be expected to know how to calculate the pKb for this problem?