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What are strong and weak acids?

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Answer:

An acid is a substance that produces hydronium ions (H3O⁺) in water. This is called dissociation. Example of dissociation with hydrochloric acid: HCl + H₂O --> H₃O⁺ + Cl^-
A strong acid dissociates completely in water.
The strong acids are:
Hydrochloric acid (HCl)
Hydrobromic acid (HBr)
Hydroiodic acid (HI)
Nitric acid (HNO₃)
Sulfuric acid (H₂SO₄)
Perchloric acid (HClO₄)
Sometimes chloric acid (HClO₃) and periodic acid (HIO₄) are listed as strong ac well.
All other acids are assumed to be weak.
A weak acid only partially dissociates in water and establishes and equilibrium..
Example with hypochlorous acid: HClO + H₂O <--> H₃O⁺ + ClO^-
Some weak acids are stronger than other, meaning that some dissociate to a greater degree.

First answer by Vetrinayagan. Last edit by Stormish. Contributor trust: 536 [recommend contributor ]. Question popularity: 0 [recommend question].

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