Hi all, I'm fairly new to the forums and wanted to say g'day. Also fairly new to chemistry (1st year environmental science student) and am about to fail my mid semester exam terribly I think . Can anybody tell me, when given a strong acid (or base), how does one work out the conjugate weak base (or acid)? Also if given the weak acid (or base) can one work out the strong base (or acid)? Is there an easy way of telling what it might be? Any little techniques to work it out? Thanks.

g'day

 

You should memorize the strong acids and strong bases. There's only about 7 of each. When we look at an acid reacting, we take into account how strong it is. The stonger the acid, the weaker its conjugate base, and the weaker the acid, the stronger its conjugate base. If you're still stuck, tell me what you're stuck on specifically. I hope that helps.

Thanks, will do . I will rote learn them tonight and hopefully that will help me get through tonight. Thanks for your help.