What is the conjugate acid of HCO3?

1 Answer
Feb 17, 2015

A conjugate acid is a substance that is formed when a base receives a proton, or H+.

So, in order to determine the conjugate acid for a given base, all you have to know is that

base+H+conjugate acid of that base

In your case, the base is hydrogen carbonate, or HCO3. If you write the equation you'll get

HCO3+H+H2CO3

Carbonic acid, or H2CO3, will be the conjugate acid of hydrogen carbonate.