Amphoteric Compounds

[imbackasd]

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How would you go about in recognizing an amphoteric compound such as NaHCo3?

Or are there specfic compounds we should know that are amphoteric

 

[sciencebooks]

How would you go about in recognizing an amphoteric compound such as NaHCo3?

Or are there specfic compounds we should know that are amphoteric

Amphoteric = acid and base, so you should be able to consider whether a compound could act either way... Can it pick up/donate electrons (Lewis defintion)? Can it pick up/donate H+ (Bronstead Lowrey definition)?

The most common examples I can think of are water (obviously) and amino acids. You should definitely know those.

 

[Charles Darwin]

NaHCO3 is amphoteric because it will dissociate into Na+ and HCO3-. HCO3- can act as a base by picking up a proton or it can donate its H to form carbonate.

Water is the most common amphoteric compound.

 

[MangoPlant]

I guess the only way to really tell weather a substance is amphoteric is to see which reactions it can undergo.

NaHCO3 will become Na+ and HCO3-. The HCO3- can donate H+ which will make NaHCO3 act as an acid. The HCO3- can also accept an H+ making H2CO3, and NaHCO3 will then act as a base.