Water is rather neutral but becomes a strong base when HCI is dissolved in water . Explain.

Explanation

The basic character of water is explained on the basis of Bronsted -Lowry concept. HCI is a strong acid which means that it readily loses `H^(+)` ions. All the ions are to be accepted by `H_(2)O` molecules to form `H_(3)O^(+)` ions. This means `H_(2)O` is a strong base in contact with HCI or any other strong acid.
`{:(HCI,+,H_(2)O ,hArr,H_(3)O^(+) ,+,CI^(-)),(underset(("Strong"))("Acid"-I),, underset(("Strong"))("Base-I"),,"Acid-I",,"Base-I"):}`
Similarly in contact with a weak acid like `CH_(3)COOH` water behaves as a weak base.