strong and weak acids

• a strong acid is completely ionised in aqueous solutions.
• examples of strong acids:

  • hydrochloric acid
  • sulfuric acid
  • nitric acid
• a weak acid is only partially ionised in aqueous solutions.
• examples of weak acids:

  • carbonic acid
  • citric acid
  • ethanoic acid
• for a given concentration of an aqueous solution, the stronger an acid, the lower the pH.
• as the pH increases by one unit, the hydrogen ion concentration of the solution increases by a factor of 10.
• the product of weak acids can react to reform the acid.