Strong and Weak Acids

What are strong acids

Acids that ionise completely in water

How can we tell when an acid has fully ionised

With one arrow

What are the three examples of strong acids

Hydrochloric acid

Sulfuric acid

Nitric acid

What are weak acids

Acids that do not ionise fully in solutions only partially

How do we know a weak acid in a equation

When arrows go both ways

What are the three examples of weak acids

Carbonic

Ethanoic

Citric

What is the ph of strong acids compared to weak acids

Strong acids have a lower ph

What does the ph scale measure

The concentration of H+ ions in the solution

What happens when ph scale decreases by 1 unit

This means the concentration of H+ ions increases by 10 times

What is the general rule and give an example

Factor H+ ion concentration changes by = 10-x.

X is the difference in pH. So if pH falls from 7 to 4 then difference is -3 and the factor the H+ ion concentration has increased by is 10-(-3)=103

What does the concentration of a acid tell us

The amount of acid molecules in a given volume of solution

What will be a dilute acids concentration

It will have fewer molecules in a given volume compared to a concentrated acid if the strength is the same

As the acid concentration increases what happens to ph

It will decrease regardless of whether it’s a strong or weak acid