Predict whether the following salts will be acidic, basic, or neutral in aqueous solution.
You need to look at ions and determine if an ion has an appreciable tendency to act as an acid or a base when dissolved in water.
The cation can often be thought of as an acid. If the cation contains ionizable hydrogen, or if the cation is a small, highly charged metal ion such as Cu^+2, Al^+3, or Fe^+3, it can act as an acid. Such a cation would hydrolyze in water to produce H3O^+1 ions.
The anion can often be thought of as a base. If the anion is the conjugate base of a weak acid, it can hydrolyze in water to produce OH^-1 ions.
(A) CH3NH3I
The CH3NH3^+1 ion is a weak acid. The I^-1 ion has no appreciable tendency to hydrolyze in water, so the salt as a whole is acidic in solution.
(B)Ca(CN)2
The Ca^+2 ion does not hydrolyze in water, but the CN^-1 ion is the conjugate base of a weak acid and reacts with water molecules to form OH^-1 ions . This salt is basic in solution.
(C)Ba(NO3)2
No ions hydrolyze significantly in water. This salt is neutral.
(D)HBr
It is not a salt, but an acid. Therefore, it will produce an acidic solution.
I hope that helps. Good luck!
would be acidic if it partially dissociated to produce H+. will be basic if it partially reacts with water to produce OH-. when you write your equation, identify your spectator ions. It will help you a lot