Acid Base Reactions

When dealing with acid base reactions, it is best to first begin with basic terminology of acids and bases

Arrhenius Acid: a species that produces H+ (protons) in an aqueous solution

Bronsted Acid: a species that donates protons

Lewis Acid: an electron-pair acceptor

Arrhenius Base: a species that produces OH- (hydroxide ion) in an aqueous solution

Bronsted Base: a species that accepts protons

Lewis Base: an electron-pair donor

Strength of Acids and Bases

Stronger acids and stronger bases will always react to form weaker conjugate acids and weaker conjugate bases.
The larger the Ka, the stronger the acid. Similarly, the smaller the pKa, the stronger the acid.

The percent ionization is used to measure the strength of acids.

The more dilute a solution of a weak acid, the greater the percent ionization of that acid.

On a pH scale, 0 is strongly acidic, 7 is neutral, and 14 is strongly basic