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Grade 12th PassInorganic Chemistry

How do we decide whether the oxide of an element is acidic,basic,neutral or amphoteric in nature?What are the deciding rules?

Profile image of Manas Mishra
8 Years agoGrade 12th Pass
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2 Answers

Profile image of Arun
ApprovedApproved Tutor Answer8 Years ago
In general, metal oxides (i.e. CaO) are basic while nonmetal oxides (i.e. CO2) are acidic. Oxides made with the elements known as metalloids (B, Si, Ge, As, Sb, Te, and Po) can be acidic or basic depending on their environment; in other words they are amphoteric. (However, this general trend cannot be used as a perfect definition, as Bi2O3 can be considered either "basic" or "amphoteric" as it is close to the metalloid diagonal on the periodic chart and has very similar properties to its metalloid neighbor polonium. Hence, it is not surprising that its oxides begin to exhibit more acidic character.)
Profile image of Sri laasya
7 Years ago
Metallic oxides are basic in nature when added to water. 
Non metallic oxides are acidic in nature when added to water. 
Example :so2 when mixed with water will be acidic in nature.
Amphoretic oxides are those whixh show both acidic and basic behavior. 
Example :al2o3, zncl2, beo, cr2o3 etc.
Neutral oxides don't show acidic or basic behavior.
Example :Co, n2o, no, of2 etc. 

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