Weak Acids and Weak Bases - Chemistry

1. Fundamental Concepts

Weak acids: donate H⁺ only slightly in solution.
Weak bases: accept H⁺ only slightly in solution.
pH of a weak acid is higher than a strong acid at the same concentration.
pH of a weak base is lower than a strong base at the same concentration.
Weak acids/bases have conjugate pairs (weak acid ↔ conjugate base, weak base ↔ conjugate acid).
They do not fully break up into ions.

Identify: Strong vs. weak — only strong acids/bases fully ionize.
Recognize reversibility: Equations use ⇌, not →.
Compare pH:
- Same concentration: weak acid has higher pH than strong acid.
- Same concentration: weak base has lower pH than strong base.
Conductivity: Weak acids/bases are poor conductors (few ions).
Structure check:
- Most organic acids = weak acids.
- Nitrogen-containing bases (like amines) = usually weak bases.