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Strong and weak acids and bases

(Please see page 4 of this article for clickable links)

Acids are divided into two categories based on the ease with which they can
donate protons to the solvent: i) strong acids and ii) weak acids
Strong acids are acids that completely dissociate in water. The reaction of an
acid with its solvent (typically H2O) is called an acid dissociation reaction.
Strong acids, such as HNO3, almost completely transfer their protons to the
solvent molecules:
HNO3(aq) + H2O(l) H3O+(aq) + NO3(aq)

In this reaction H2O serves as the base. The hydronium ion, H3O+, is the
conjugate acid of H2O, and the nitrate ion is the conjugate base of HNO3. It is
the hydronium ion H3O+ that is the acidic species in solution, and its
concentration determines the acidity of the resulting solution.

The common strong acids in aqueous solutions are given in Table I.1:

Table I.1: Strong acids in aqueous solutions


When a solution of 0,1 M HNO3 dissolves in water dissociates completely to
0,1 M H+ and 0,1 M NO3.
Weak acids, for example acetic acid, cannot completely donate their acidic
protons to the solvent. Instead, most of the acid remains undissociated, with
only a small fraction present as the conjugate base (CH3COO).

Weak acids are acids that dissociate partially in water. The extent of
dissociation is given by the equilibrium constant.

Note:

A measure of the relative strength of an acid is: i) the equilibrium


constant ka of the dissociation reaction of the acid in water (depends on
temperature) ii) the degree of dissociation of the acid in water
(depends on the concentration of the acid an on temperature).

The equilibrium constant for this reaction is called an acid dissociation


constant, ka, and is written as:

ka = [H3O+] * [CH3COO] / [CH3COOH] = 1.76 * 10-5


The magnitude of ka provides information about the relative strength of a
weak acid, with a smaller ka corresponding to a weaker acid. The opposite,
small pka values characterize stronger acids.

Table I.2 below gives the ka and pka values for a number of commonlyencountered weak acids (25 C).
Compound
Acetic acid (CH3COOH)
Adipic acid
(CH2)4(COOH)2
Benzoic acid

ka

pka

1.76 x 10
3.71 x 10

-5

-5

4.75

Step 1

4.43

3.87 x 10-5 Step 2

4.41

6.46 x 10-5

4.19

(C6H5COOH)
Carbonic acid (H2CO3)

4.3 x 10-7

6.37

5.61 x 10-11

10.25

-3

2.85

Chromic acid (H2CrO4)

1.8 x 10-1

0.74
6.49

Formic acid (HCOOH)

3.2 x 10-7
1.77 x 10-4 (20 C)

Chloroacetic acid
(ClCH2CO2H)

1.4 x 10

3.75

-10

9.31

3.53 x 10

-4

3.45

Hypobromous acid
(HBrO)

2.06 x 10

-9

8.69

Hypochlorous acid
(HClO)

2.95 x 10-8

7.53

Hypoiodous acid (HIO)

2.3 x 10-11

10.64

Hydrocyanic acid (HCN)


Hydrofluoric acid (HF)

Iodic acid (HIO3)


Maleic acid

Nitrous acid (HNO2)


Oxalic acid (H2C2O4)

Periodic acid
Phenol (C6H5OH)
o-Phosphoric acid
(H3PO4)

4.93 x 10

1.69 x 10

-1

0.77

1.42 x 10

-2

1.83

8.57 x 10-7
4.6 x 10-4 (12,5 C)

6.07
3.37

-2

1.23

6.40 x 10-5

4.19

5.90 x 10

-2

1.64

-10

9.89

-3

2.12

6.23 x 10-8

7.21

2.3 x 10

1.28 x 10

7.52 x 10

Table I.2: The ka and pka values for a number of commonlyencountered weak acids

Simirarly, strong bases, such as NaOH, are bases that completely dissociate in
water to produce hydroxyl ion OH-:

NaOH Na+ + OH-

When 0.1M NaOH dissolves in H2O dissociates to 0.1M Na+ and 0.1M OH-.
The common strong bases in aqueous solutions are given in Table I.3:

Strong bases in aqueous solutions


Group 1A metal
LiOH, NaOH, KOH, RbOH, CsOH
hydroxides
Group 2A metal hydroxides
Ca(OH)2, Sr(OH)2, Ba(OH)2
Table I.3: Strong bases in water

For more info on strong acids and bases and acid-base equilibria
please see the following links:
Strong acid and bases - Weak acid and bases - Dissociation constants and
pK's
pH of strong acids - Examples
Ionic Equilibrium - Strong Acids and Bases A general relation for the pH of a
strong acid.
Weak Acids and Bases Calculate the pH of a weak acid (a general equation)

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