<p>Okay, so sodium acetate is dissolved in water to form one liter of solution; does the acetate ion act as a weak base or a weak acid, and also, how do you write the net ionic equation incorporating the fact the pH of the solution is 10? Thanks:)</p>
<p>It should act as a weak acid, because NaOH, which is a strong base, is produced</p>
<p>^ I concur. Acetate is known to be a weak acid.
Well net ionic equations involve the reactants that form the precipitants if I am correct, though I’m not sure how you would incorporate pH into it.</p>
<p>Wouldn’t the acetate ion act as a weak base, because it accepts the H+ ion from water?</p>
<p>Acids and bases usually come in pairs, and since OH- is taken by Na, making NaOH the base, acetate has to be the acid
And I think you got it backwards. Usually things with an H+ ion are acidic, while things with the OH- ion are basic.</p>
<p>i’m pretty sure the ION acts as a base…it forms a weak acid, but because the ion is a proton acceptor, it is a weak base (according to the bronsted-lowry definition)</p>
<p>right…b/c chem species that accept protons are bases, and those that donate protons are acids…ok, I get it now</p>
<p>birk44 is correct. The net ionic equation demonstrating that the solution is basic is:</p>
<p>C2H3O2- + H2O –> HC2H3O2 + OH-</p>
<p>The fact that there is now more OH- present than originally in the water is the reason for the pH>7.</p>