"Why do they say the stronger the acid, the stronger the conjugate base?"

1 Answer
Nov 24, 2016

Presumably, they simply made a mistake. Are you sure they didn't say, "the weaker the acid, the stronger the conjugate base"?

Explanation:

As you know, pK_a and pK_b are logarithmic functions, and are defined by the relationships, pK_a=-log_(10)K_a, pK_b=-log_(10)K_b.

Given this definition, it follows the smaller, that is the more negative, the pK_a value, the STRONGER the acid is. It is a bit counter-intuitive, and we have all made mistakes in interpretation.