Are hydronium ions contributed to a solution by an acid or a base?

1 Answer
Nathan L.
Aug 1, 2017

Brønsted-Lowry and Arrhenius acids introduce "H"^+ in solution.

Explanation:

In the Arrhenius acid definition, the acid introduces "H"^+ (i.e. "H"_3"O"^+) into the solution, because the polarity of the water molecule solvated the hydrogen from the molecule.

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Here, "HCl" acts as the Arrhenius acid (as well as the Brønsted-Lowry acid, as discussed below:)

In the Brønsted-Lowry acid definition, the acid donates an "H"^+ (a proton) to a base to form the acid's conjugate base (the base becomes its conjugate acid):

![qph.ec.quoracdn.net](https://d2jmvrsizmvf4x.cloudfront.net/IBfPcrGNRamQE09BswIs_main-qimg-95dd29dc9674e0c9c148b1a4fb325682)

In this image, "H"_2"O" acts as the Brønsted-Lowry acid, and "NH"_3 acts as the Brønsted Lowry base.

Acids in the Arrhenius and Brønsted-Lowry definitions are quite similar; essentially, both definitions require for the acid to dissociate into "H"^+, only the Brønsted-Lowry definition requires that it be donated to a base in solution.

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