1.Previous
3.Next

base is the carboxylate salt. In this case, hydroxide is a strong enough base to deprotonate the carboxylic acid because the conjugate base is more stable than the base because the negative charge is delocalized over two electronegative atoms compared to one. Using pK_a values, the carboxylic acid is approximately 4 and the conjugate acid, water, is 15.7. Because acids with higher pK_a values are less likely to donate their protons, the equilibrium will favor their formation. Therefore, the side of the equation with water

1.Previous
3.Next