What is an arrhenius base?

1 Answer
Oscar L. · Truong-Son N.
Jun 20, 2016

An Arrhenius base is something that increases the #"OH"^-# concentration, and decreases the #"H"_3"O"^+# concentration, when it is dissolved in water. An Arrhenius acid does the opposite.

Explanation:

The Arrhenius theory of acids and bases is little used today. This is not because it is wrong; it isn't. Instead it's been expanded to include additional cases that the original theory did not cover.

These expanded theories include the ones with which you are probably more familiar:

  • The Bronsted-Lowry theory which considers proton transfer whether water is involved or not.
  • The Lewis theory where acids create polar or ionic products by drawing electron pairs from bases.
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