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ChemistryOrganic Chemistry

What Is a Lewis Acid? Choose the Electron-Pair Acceptor

A Lewis acid accepts an electron pair for bond formation, so (b) is correct. Proton donation describes a narrower acid concept, while pair donation defines a Lewis base.

Question

Which property makes a molecule or ion a Lewis acid?

(a) Taking a proton from water.

(b) Taking an electron pair to make a chemical bond.

(c) Providing an electron pair to make a chemical bond.

(d) Giving a proton to water.

(e) Having multiple resonance electron-dot representations.

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Evidence boundary

The five choices are a normalized presentation of AP99-38 in the UT Austin-hosted Chemistry Questions — English Form. The page establishes that hosted version, not an independently verified original exam edition. Choice (b) is the general definition; explaining why (d) is narrower does not deny that proton-transfer acids also participate in Lewis acid–base chemistry.