Question

Hydrogen selenide (H2Se) reacts with water according to the following equation.

H2Se + H2O → SeH– + H3O+

In three to five sentences, identify the acid, base, conjugate acid, and conjugate base in this reaction. Use patterns in the periodic table to explain why the substances you identified acted as the acid and the base in this reaction

Answer 1

[AI-generated answer — Bot GPT 3.5]

In this reaction, H2Se is the acid and H2O is the base. H2Se donates a proton (H+) to water, forming the conjugate base, SeH-. Water accepts the proton, forming the conjugate acid, H3O+. The substances are categorized as acid or base based on their ability to donate or accept protons, respectively. In this case, H2Se (hydrogen selenide) acts as the acid because selenium (Se) is more electronegative than hydrogen (H), making it more likely to donate a proton. On the other hand, water acts as the base because oxygen (O) is less electronegative than hydrogen, making it more likely to accept a proton.