Question

Question #8153f

Answer 1

Strong acids ionize completely in aqueous solution whereas weak acids have low percentage of ionization.
When an acid ionizes, it dissociates into hydrogen ions and a conjugate base.
The general equation for this process is
`HA-> H^+ + A^-`
In the above equation, HA represents the acid, `H+` the hydrogen ion and `A^-` the conjugate base

Hydrochloride acid, HCl, is an example of a strong acid. All the dissolved acid ionizes completely to two ions`H^+` and `Cl-`

`HCl -> H^+ + Cl^-`

If you make a 1.0 molar solution of HCl, the hydrogen ion concentration will also be 1.0 molar.

Weak acids, on the other hand ionize much less than 100 %.

For example, if we assume a weak acid, such as `HNO_2` ionizes 10%, then most of the solution , 90% will contain the acid and 10% `H^+` and the conjugate base `NO_2^-`