ORGANIC CHEMISTRY I

PRACTICE PROBLEMS FOR BRONSTED-LOWRY ACID-BASE CHEMISTRY

1. For each of the species below, identify the most acidic proton and provide the
structure of the corresponding conjugate base. You might want to draw detailed Lewis
formulas in some cases.

HF CH3CH3

CH3CH2OH CH3CN

H3O HC CH

H2O H2

RNH3 CH3OH2

2. For each of the species below, identify the basic atom and provide the structure of the
corresponding conjugate acid. You might want to draw detailed Lewis formulas in some
cases.

CN CH3CH2O

_2
SO4 OH

CH3CH2OH PhCOO

H2O Br

O O
NH2
3. Fill in the reactants or products for the following acid-base reactions. Keep in mind
that in line-angle formulas hydrogens are not shown. When in doubt, write complete
Lewis structures. Abbreviations used: Ph=phenyl (a benzene ring attached to a carbon
chain)

HNO3 + H2O

F + H3O

O
+ OH
H3C CH3

PhCOO + HCl

H2CO3 + OH

+ H2O

NH3 + HC C

OH + H

4. Arrange the substances by order of acidity or basicity as indicated. You may use pKa
tables, periodic tables, or any other tools available to you (except for your cell phone).

H2Se H2O H2S

weakest acid strongest acid

Br F I Cl
strongest base weakest base

CH4 HI PH3 H2Se

strongest acid weakest acid

F OH NH2 CH3CH2CH2CH2

weakest basse strongest base

CH3CH2OH CH3COOH HF Benzene

weakest acid strongest acid

5. Circle the side favored by equilibrium in the following acid-base reactions.

CN + NH3 HCN + NH2

O O
OH + O +
H3C CH2 H3C CH3

H2O + NH3 H3O + NH2

H2CO3 + H2O HCO3 + H3O

CH3CH2CH2CH3 + CH2 CH3CH2CH2CH2 + CH3

6. The conjugate acid of ammonia, NH3, is:

+
A) NH4 B) NH2OH C) NH2- D) none of the above

7. Methanesulfonic acid, CH3SO3H, has a pKa of -7 while ethanol, CH3CH2OH, has a pKa of
15.9. Which is the stronger acid and what accounts for this large difference in relative
acidity?

8. Would you predict trifluoromethanesulfonic acid, CF3SO3H, to be a stronger or weaker

acid than methanesulfonic acid, CH3SO3H? Explain your reasoning.

9. Consider the species CH3O-, NH2-, and CH3COO-. Rank these ions in order of
increasing basicity, and explain your rationale.

10. The Ka of formic acid is 1.7 x 10-4. The pKa of formic acid is __________.

A) 1.7 B) 10.3 C) 4.0 D) 3.8 E) -2.3

11. Provide the structure of the conjugate base of phenol (shown below) and all its
resonance forms.

OH

12. Rank the following in order of increasing acidity: CH3OH, HCl, NH3, and CH4.

13. Rank the following in order of increasing basicity: CH3O-, H2N-, H2O, and NH3.
14. When methanol (CH3OH) acts as a base, its conjugate acid is __________.

A) CH4OH B) CH3OH2+ C) CH4O+ D) CH3O- E) -CH2OH

15. Which of the following pairs of bases lists the stronger base first?

A) H2O > HO-

B) H N- > CH COO-
2 3

C) CH3COO- > HO-

D) I- > Cl-
E) HO- > H2N-

16. Draw the structure of the conjugate acid of acetone (CH3COCH3).

 ANSWERS

1.

F CH3CH2
HF CH3CH3

CH3CH3O CH2CN
CH3CH2OH CH3CN

H2O HC C
H3O HC CH

OH H
H2O H2

RNH2 CH3OH
RNH3 CH3OH2

2.
HCN CH3CH2OH
CN CH3CH3O

_2
SO4 HSO4 OH H2O

CH3CH2OH CH3CH2OH2 PhCOO PhCOOH

H2O H3O Br HBr

O O O O
NH2 NH3
3.
HNO3 + H2O H3O + NO3

HF + H2O F + H3O

O O
+ OH + H2O
H3C CH3 H3C CH2

PhCOOH + Cl PhCOO + HCl

H2CO3 + OH HCO3 + H2O

+ H2O + OH

NH2 + HC CH NH3 + HC C

OH + H O + H2

4.

H2O < H2S < H2Se

Periodic trend
weakest acid strongest acid

F > Cl > Br > I

Periodic trend
strongest base weakest base

HI > H2Se > PH3 > CH4

Periodic trend
strongest acid weakest acid

F < OH < NH2 < CH3CH2CH2CH2

Periodic trend
weakest basse strongest base

Benzene < CH3CH2OH < CH3COOH < HF

pKa trend
weakest acid strongest acid
5. The numbers represent approximate pKa values for the substances acting as acids.

CN + NH3 HCN + NH2

38 9

O O
OH + O +
H3C CH2 H3C CH3
17 20

H2O + NH3 H3O + NH2

4 -1.7

H2CO3 + H2O HCO3 + H3O

6.4 -1.7

CH3CH2CH2CH3 + CH2 CH3CH2CH2CH2 + CH3

48 40

6. A

7. Methanesulfonic acid is the stronger acid. The lower the pKa, the stronger the acid. A
lower pKa is associated with a larger Ka which signifies greater dissociation. The large
relative difference in acidity in this case can be most easily seen by gauging the relative
basicities of the conjugate bases. The weaker the base, the stronger the corresponding
conjugate acid. Methanesulfonate, CH3SO3-, is considerably stabilized by resonance
delocalization which is not found in ethoxide, CH CH O-. This effect greatly reduces the
3 2
basicity of methanesulfonate relative to ethoxide. Draw the Lewis formula for
methanesulfonate and the resonance forms for practice.

8. Trifluoromethanesulfonic acid is a stronger acid. Compare the strengths of the

conjugate bases and remember that the weaker the base, the stronger the conjugate
acid. Both bases are stabilized by resonance, but in the case of the trifluoro derivative,
the presence of the highly electronegative fluorine atoms serves to delocalize the
negative charge to an even greater extent by the inductive effect of fluorine. This
additional delocalization makes trifluoromethanesulfonate a weaker base.

9. CH3COO- < CH3O- < NH2-

first factor to consider is the nature of the atom which bears the negative charge. The
more electronegative the atom that bears the negative charge, the more stable the
anion. Stable anions are less reactive and are hence weaker bases. Since O is more
electronegative than N, the NH2- is the strongest base in the set. In the remaining two
species, the negative charge is on the O, but in the case of CH COO-, the negative
3
charge is also delocalized by resonance.

10. D

11. See class notes, or p. 417 of the Wade textbook, for all the resonance structures of
the phenoxide ion shown below.

O 4 more
(see p. 429 for resonance
resonance structures
structures)

12. CH4 < NH3 < CH3OH < HCl (periodic trend)

13. H2O < NH3 < CH3O- < H2N- Negatively charged ions are stronger bases than
neutral counterparts. A table of pKa values will further aid in deciding the final order of
basicity.

14. B

15. B

16.

OH

H3C CH3