Practice question · Multiple choice
Why is the chloride ion unable to raise the pH of a solution?
Hints
- Conjugate strength runs inversely to the strength of the parent acid.
- The stronger the acid, the weaker its conjugate base.
Show the answer
B. It is the conjugate of a very strong acid and so is a negligibly weak base
Why
Hydrochloric acid is essentially completely ionised, which means the reverse reaction barely occurs, so chloride has almost no tendency to take a proton back. Its conjugate basicity is negligible and sodium chloride solutions are neutral.
Practise Acids, Bases and pH
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