Question #f5310

1 Answer
Stefan V.
Nov 22, 2015

#"NH"_4^(+)#
#"H"_3"O"^(+)#

Explanation:

The ammonium ion is formed when a molecule of ammonia, #"NH"_3#, accepts a proton, #"H"^(+)#.

This tells you two things

  • the ammonium ion will have a total of four hydrogen atoms, one more than the ammonia molecule
  • the ammonium ion will have an overall #(1+)# net charge coming from the added proton*

This means that the chemical formula for the ammonium ion will be

#"NH"_4^(+)#

http://www.chem.wisc.edu/deptfiles/genchem/sstutorial/Text7/Tx71/tx71.html

The hydronium ion is formed when a molecule of water, #"H"_2"O"#, accepts a proton, #"H"^(+)#.

This of course means that the hydronium ion will have three hydrogen atoms and a net overall charge of #(1+)#. Its chemical formula will thus be

#"H"_3"O"^(+)#

http://www.showme.com/sh/?h=I7UOp0K

An alternative way of thinking about these ions is that they represent the conjugate acids of their respective bases, ammonia and water.

When a base accepts a proton from an acid, the compound that's formed is called a conjugate acid. In this case, the ammonium ion is the conjugate acid of ammonia and the hydronium ion is the conjugate acid of water.

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