Chemical Formula
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Chemical Formula
How do you identify whether it is an acid or a base just by looking at the chemical formula?
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- Posts: 20
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Re: Chemical Formula
If it's a metal it's a base. If it's a nonmetal it's an acid. For example, KOH and NaOH are bases because they contain alkaline earth metals. HBr and HCl are acids because they contain nonmetals.
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Re: Chemical Formula
If the molecule is made with a metal element, then it's a base. If the molecules is made a nonmetal element, it's an acid. You can also see if there are Hydronium ions being produced or hydroxide ions being produced.
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Re: Chemical Formula
It's also helpful to remember that generally acids start with an H or end with -COOH while bases generally end with -OH. It might not be true for everything but is for most things I have encountered.
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Re: Chemical Formula
A general rule is that if a molecule contains OH, it is considered a base. If a molecule has an H attached to it, it is generally an acid. Another way to identify if it is an acid or base is to identify the bronsted lowry acid and base by keeping track of the transfer of protons during the reaction.
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Re: Chemical Formula
Generally, if the molecule contains a nonmetal, it is an acid. Inversely, if the molecule contains a metal, it is generally a base.
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