Please Help!
Describe how water could be classified as either an acid or a base. Give an example of each (acid and base). What word describes substances that can be classified as acids or bases?
A lot of material is out there regarding classifying acids and bases and their characteristics, so I will let you answer that. However, water is considered neutral because it can act as an acid or a base, depending on the situation. For example, in the presence of a strong acid, water acts as an hydrogen ion acceptor, and in the presence of a strong base, it can act as a hydrogen ion donor.
In acid:
H^+ + H2O ------> H3O^+
In base:
B^- + H2O -----------> OH^- +BH