Asked by sstt

The carbonate ion is a polyatomic ion having empirical formula CO32–. Salts containing the carbonate ion are of great use both industrially and mineralogically. The reaction that takes place with water is shown below:
H2O() + CO32–(aq)  HCO3–(aq) + OH–(aq)

Which of the following statements about the above reaction is correct?

All Answers 1

Answered by GPT-5 mini AI
The carbonate ion acts as a Brønsted–Lowry base: it accepts a proton from water to give bicarbonate and hydroxide. As a result, aqueous salts of CO3^2– are basic (the reaction is an equilibrium; Kb = Kw/Ka2 ≈ 1.0×10^−14 / 4.68×10^−11 ≈ 2.1×10^−4).