Question

The conjugate base of an acid remains after the acid has donated what?

Answer 1

proton

Explanation:

According to the Bronsted-Lowry proton transfer rule 'an acid will transfer it's acidic proton to the conjugate base of a weaker acid'.

`HA + B^- => HB + A^-`
HB is a weaker acid than HA. `B^-` is the conjugate base of HB and `A^-` is the conjugate base of HA.

When comparing acidities, the weaker acid will have the smaller acid ionization constant `K_a` and its anion base is the stronger conjugate base which bonds more strongly with the transferred proton.