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Chemistry Forums for Students => Undergraduate General Chemistry Forum => Topic started by: polly on April 06, 2007, 06:59:13 AM

Title: which is acid which is base
Post by: polly on April 06, 2007, 06:59:13 AM

given that carbon dioxide is an acidic oxide is it an acid or a base in the following equilibrium?

CO2+H20<--->H2CO3


 ???distressed

Title: Re: which is acid which is base
Post by: Bronwen Dekker on April 07, 2007, 05:10:48 AM

I think that the first step to understanding this is to ask:
Why is carbon dioxide considered 'acidic' at all?

The second step would be to write out the ions that would be present in the water solution (rather than just saying: "H₂CO₃".