Which one of the following is a BrØnsted -Lowry base?

Question

Which one of the following is a BrØnsted -Lowry base? 

A) (CH3)3N B) CH3COOH C) HF D) HNO2 E) none of the above 

Answer 1

Hi, Kiranpreet,

The definition of a Bronsted-Lowry base is "any species that is capable of accepting a proton, which requires a lone pair of electrons to bond to the H⁺". In the example above, the four compounds are: A) trimethylamine, B) acetic acid, C) hydrofluoric acid, and D) nitrous acid. As the names might already imply, only A) trimethylamine has a lone pair of electrons on nitrogen to serve as a Bronsted-Lowry base.

Thanks,

Chris