The substance NH
is considered lewis acid Lewis base, Bronsted Lowry’s base, Arrhenius base Lewis acid, Lewis base Lewis acid, Bronsted Lowry’s acid, Arrhenius acid lewis base
The Correct Answer and Explanation is:
The correct answer is Lewis base, Bronsted Lowry’s base, Arrhenius base.
The substance ammonia (NH₃) is classified as a base under the three major acid base theories for the following reasons.
First, according to the Lewis theory, a base is a substance that can donate a pair of electrons. The nitrogen atom in an ammonia molecule has a lone pair of nonbonding electrons in its valence shell. This lone pair is available to be donated to form a coordinate covalent bond with an electron deficient species, known as a Lewis acid. For instance, ammonia can donate its electron pair to a proton (H⁺) or to a molecule like boron trifluoride (BF₃). Because it is an electron pair donor, ammonia is a Lewis base.
Second, under the Brønsted Lowry theory, a base is defined as a proton (H⁺) acceptor. When ammonia is dissolved in water, it participates in an equilibrium reaction: NH₃ + H₂O ⇌ NH₄⁺ + OH⁻. In this reaction, the ammonia molecule accepts a proton from a water molecule to form the ammonium ion (NH₄⁺). This act of accepting a proton makes ammonia a Brønsted Lowry base.
Third, the Arrhenius theory defines a base as a substance that increases the concentration of hydroxide ions (OH⁻) when dissolved in an aqueous solution. As shown in the reaction above, when ammonia reacts with water, it results in the formation of hydroxide ions. This increase in the OH⁻ concentration in the solution confirms that ammonia also functions as an Arrhenius base.
Since ammonia meets the criteria for a base under all three of these fundamental chemical definitions, the most complete and accurate classification is that it is a Lewis base, a Brønsted Lowry base, and an Arrhenius base
