00:05
An amphoteric substance is one that can act as an acid or a base.
00:11
So when we look at h2o and h2p -o4 with a negative charge, both of these compounds have hydrogen, which means they can act as an acid, and they are both capable of acting as bases as well.
00:30
So when we look at the structure of hydrogen, of water, it does have lone pairs of electrons on the oxygens, which allows it to accept hydrogen ions and act as a base.
00:41
The h2 -p -o -4 has that negative charge, which also makes it likely to accept hydrogen ions, which are positive, again, acting as a base.
00:51
Now, to compare these two or look at these two, we can actually look at them reacting together, since they are both amphoteric.
00:57
We could also look at this in terms of them reacting with another acid or a different base.
01:03
But this way we can actually see both of these together.
01:09
So if we look at this as a first example, if we treat water as the acid and h2, p .o4 is the base, right? so since they can both act both ways, it doesn't matter which one we do first.
01:21
If water acts as an acid, it gives up a hydrogen, okay, hydrogen ion, and gives it to the base...