What is an arrhenius base?

1 Answer
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.