Strong and Weak Acids and Bases

A complete set of vocabulary flashcards covering the properties and examples of strong and weak acids and bases, including their chemical formulas and IUPAC names.

Strong Acids

Acids that have high $K_a$ and small $pK_a$ values.

$$HCl$$

Hydrochloric acid; a strong acid.

$$HNO_3$$

Nitric acid; a strong acid.

$$H_2SO_4$$

Sulfuric acid; a strong acid (Note: $HSO_4^-$ is a weak acid).

$$HBr$$

Hydrobromic acid; a strong acid.

$$HI$$

Hydroiodic acid; a strong acid.

$$HClO_4$$

Perchloric acid; a strong acid.

$$HClO_3$$

Chloric acid; a strong acid.

Weak Acids

Acids that have very small $K_a$ values and large $pK_a$ values; many organic acids belong to this group.

$$HO_2C_2O_2H$$

Oxalic acid; a weak acid.

$$H_2SO_3$$

Sulfurous acid; a weak acid.

$$HSO_4^-$$

Hydrogen sulfate ion; a weak acid.

$$H_3PO_4$$

Phosphoric acid; a weak acid.

$$HNO_2$$

Nitrous acid; a weak acid.

$$HF$$

Hydrofluoric acid; a weak acid.

$$C_6H_5COOH$$

Benzoic acid; a weak acid.

$$CH_3COOH$$

Acetic acid (IUPAC name: ethanoic acid); a weak acid.

$$HCOOH$$

Formic acid (IUPAC name: methanoic acid); a weak acid.

Strong Bases

Bases that have high $K_b$ and small $pK_b$ values.

Lithium bases

$LiOH$ (lithium hydroxide) and $Li_2O$ (lithium oxide); strong bases.

Sodium bases

$NaOH$ (sodium hydroxide) and $Na_2O$ (sodium oxide); strong bases.

Potassium bases

$KOH$ (potassium hydroxide) and $K_2O$ (potassium oxide); strong bases.

Rubidium bases

$RbOH$ (rubidium hydroxide) and $Rb_2O$ (rubidium oxide); strong bases.

Cesium bases

$CsOH$ (cesium hydroxide) and $Cs_2O$ (cesium oxide); strong bases.

Calcium bases

$Ca(OH)_2$ (calcium hydroxide) and $CaO$ (calcium oxide); strong bases.

Strontium bases

$Sr(OH)_2$ (strontium hydroxide) and $SrO$ (strontium oxide); strong bases.

Barium bases

$Ba(OH)_2$ (barium hydroxide) and $BaO$ (barium oxide); strong bases.

Weak Bases

Bases that have very small $K_b$ values and large $pK_b$ values.

$$NH_3$$

Ammonia; a weak base.

$$CH_3NH_2$$

Methylamine; a weak base.

$$C_5H_5N$$

Pyridine; a weak base.