Question

Use the periodic table to complete the activity.

An illustration shows the periodic table of elements with elements arranged in increasing order of atomic number in 18 columns (groups) and 7 rows (periods). The electronegativity of elements increases from left to right, across a period. The hydrogen on the left is included in group with medium electronegativity. Also, fluorine is shown as element with highest electronegativity.

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 is the acid because it donates a proton (H+) to the water molecule, forming the conjugate base SeH-. H2O is the base because it accepts the proton from H2Se to form the conjugate acid H3O+. This reaction follows the pattern of acids being substances that donate protons (H+), and bases being substances that accept protons. The elements involved in this reaction, hydrogen (H) and selenium (Se), fall into the same group on the periodic table and have similar chemical properties, allowing for the transfer of a proton between them.