Why does water act as a base when acetic acid dissolves in it?

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sodium sulfate — acid–base reaction Sodium sulfate, also called Glauber's salt, is, like other salts, the product of an acid-base reaction.

According to the Brønsted–Lowry definition, an acid is a species that tends to lose a proton, while a base is a species that tends to gain one.1

Water is an amphoteric substance, meaning it can act as either an acid or a base depending on the environment. When acetic acid dissolves in water, it acts as a proton donor, and water acts as a base by accepting that proton to form a hydronium ion ( $H_{3} O^{+}$ ). This reaction is represented by the following equation:234

$C H_{3} C O_{2} H + H_{2} O ⇌ C H_{3} C O_{2}^{-} + H_{3} O^{+}$ 4

In this process, water functions as a base because it has a tendency to accept the proton released by the acetic acid.14