Question

Identify the acids and the bases in the chemical equation.

acid
base
HCI + C5H5N = Cl + HC5H5N+

Answer 1

Acids:
`HCl, C_5H_5NH^+`

Bases:
`C_5H_5N, Cl^-`

Step-by-step explanation:

According to the Bronsted-Lowry acid-base theory, an acid is a proton donor and a base is a proton acceptor. In this case, notice that
`HCl` donates a proton, since after it loses a proton, it becomes a chloride anion. Therefore,
`HCl` is a Bronsted acid.

Similarly,
`C_5H_5N` is a proton acceptor and, therefore, a Bronsted base, since it becomes
`C_5H_5NH^+`.

If we look at the reverse reaction, chloride can gain a proton to become
`HCl`, meaning it's a conjugate base.

Finally,
`C_5H_5NH^+` is a conjugate acid, since it can donate a proton to chloride.