Identifying Conjugate Base

[Ashley Hiti 1K]

When talking about Ions as Bases in Lecture (11/29) Dr. Lavelle used Sodium Acetate as an example.

Sodium Acetate: NaCH3CO2-

He said that we would know it’s a base because it’s the conjugate base of a weak acid.

How do we identify that CH3CO2- is a conjugate base?

[amara ajon 1d]

Hi,
A conjugate base is a substance formed when an acid loses a hydrogen atom; we see in the NaCH3COO compound that it consists of an Na+ and CH3COO- bonded together, and that CH3COO- can accept an H+ ion to form CH3COOH (which is a weak acid) — making CH3COO the conjugate base in this case.

[Maggie Black 1C]

You just have to determine which portion is the acid and which is the base. Keep in mind that a conjugate acid is a compound that results from an acid donating a proton to a base (the base has a hydrogen ion added to it, hence the acid as a proton "donor"). Similarly, the conjugate base results from the remaining compound that "accepts" the proton.