[CHM 111] Chapter 4-CHM111-

[Andrew J. Pounds]

On 10/10/2017 11:16 AM,  wrote:
> Dr Pounds,
> On page 141 of the textbook. It shows the ionization of ammonia. Is a reaction in which if you gave us the reactants, we should be able to tell you the products? Because there is no way I could figure that out. I would have put the cation from the first and the anion from the second together, then the cation from the second with the anion from the first. That is not the correct answer. I am completely lost in how they are getting these products!
> NH3 is not a strong acid or base or ion, so it doesn’t ionize completely, but I don’t know why the product is adding an H to NH.

So on page 141 they are showing you typical acid-base reactions. We have 
discussed certain "well known" reactions in class.  For example, you 
know that combustion of a hydrocarbon produces water and carbon 
dioxide.   You also know that acid/base reaction produce water and a 
salt.   In cases of solubility reactions, if you knew the solubility 
rules you could also probably pick out which species formed solids from 
the reactions of electrolytes. In each case of these "classic" type of 
reactions I would expect for you to be able to predict the products.

At this stage of your chemical I do not expect for you to have the 
skills to, in a general manner, predict the products of reactions -- and 
for that reason I often provide for you the reactants and products in 
some form -- unless it falls into one of those categories above.


By the way, NH_3 (ammonia) is the prototypical weak base -- you will see 
if used ubiquitously in CHM 111 and CHM 112 along with its conjugate 
acid, the ammonium ion NH_4 ^+ . This is one you might want to know.


The actual reason that these ions form will hopefully become more 
apparent when we get to electronic structure and bonding.


-- 
Andrew J. Pounds, Ph.D.  (pounds_aj at mercer.edu)
Professor of Chemistry and Computer Science
Mercer University,  Macon, GA 31207   (478) 301-5627
http://faculty.mercer.edu/pounds_aj

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