Question

Is the cyanide ion a strong or weak base?

Answer 1

i think it is weak base

Answer 2

i also think its a base

Answer 3

Its is a strong base, and when it is dissolved in water it gives the basic media...

---- STRONG BASE ----

Answer 4

it is a very strong base. here is a website which demonstrates this - http://pages.towson.edu/ladon/orgrxs/reagent/bases.htm

Answer 5

It is a weak base. pKa = 9.2 is relatively high but no way nearing 14.

Weak bases react partially with water and have pKa < 14 (or pKb > 0)
Strong bases react fully with water and have pKa >14 (or pKb < 0)

Weak bases can be ranked according to their "strength".
CN- , NH3 are a fairly strong weak bases.

I hope this makes sense to you.

Answer 6

@Vincent-Lyon.Fr what is pKa

Answer 7

pKa = -lg Ka
where Ka is the acidity constant of the Acid/base couple.

pKb = 14 - pKa
is the basicity constant.

See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acidity_constant