WRITE THE BALANCED REACTION OF HYPOCHLOROUS ACID, HOCI WATER TO FORM HYDRONIUM ION AND CONJUGATE BASE OF HOCI. IDENTIFY EACH SPECIES AS EITHER AN ACID OR BASE.

1 answer

HOCl + H2O ==> H3O^+ + OCl^-
acid 1 + base 1.....acid 2 + base 2
HOCl is an acid and OCl^- is the conjugate base.
H2O is the base and H3O^+ is the conjugate acid.
H2O/H3O^+ is one acid/base pair (or if you prefer base/acid pair). How do you know which is the acid and which the base? The one with more H is the acid; the one with fewer H is the base. H2O is the base and H3O^+ is the conjugate acid.
HOCl/OCl^- is the other acid/base pair. HOCl is the acid and OCl^- is the conjugate base.
Note: You may see HOCl ==> H^+ + OCl^- sometimes written as HClO ==> H^+ + ClO^-
Most chemists prefer HOCl BECAUSE it shows H is connected to the O and not the Cl.