Acid, Base- What to Know?

[imbackasd]

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Okay so on TBR, im going over acid base and i come across basically problems like

Which of the following bases has the strongest conjugate acid?

I understand the terminology as in we are looking for the weakest base.

Now my question is what acid/bases should we know for the MCAT?

As in yes I know the 6 strong acids, and the general strong bases (group 1 + OH- etc.)

Will that all be sufficient or should I know more?

Will there be questions like knowing which is weaker/stronger acid in which we have to know certain pKa?

 

[powersellingmom]

Have you gotten to orgo yet? There are certain trends that affect acidity that you should probably know. They teach you some of the inorganic examples in the gen chem books but I think it's more important in orgo.

 

[rjosh33]

Will that all be sufficient or should I know more?

Will there be questions like knowing which is weaker/stronger acid in which we have to know certain pKa?

While it wouldn't hurt to know them, you don't have to have any pKa's memorized.

But do know the differences between the three acid definitions (Lewis, Bronsted, Arrenhius). Know what indicators are and what pH range to use them. Know the difference b/t end point and equivalence point, as well as any other landmarks in titrations. Know trends from the periodic table (acidity generally increases as you go right and down on the per. table).

Know the Henderson-Hasselbach equation and how to use it. Understand Ka expressions. Make sure to keep an eye out during questions to see if they use pOH, or have you convert to it at some point. You should be able to quickly go from moles to molarity and vice versa if you know one and the volume.

There's probably more, but that's all I can think of off the top of my head.

 

[sciencebooks]

Yeah, I learned the STRONG acids and bases and then everything else is technically weak. You won't need to know pKa comparisons of weak things but like somebody else said, understand basic trends. Like that adding an electron withdrawing group (i.e., F) increase acidity.

 

[ebasappa]

Yeah, I learned the STRONG acids and bases and then everything else is technically weak. You won't need to know pKa comparisons of weak things but like somebody else said, understand basic trends. Like that adding an electron withdrawing group (i.e., F) increase acidity.

Spot on. I also memorized that Carboxylic Acids have a pKa 3~5 and Amino groups are 9~11 , those functional groups seem to appear on many passages