Strong acid

A strong acid is an acidic compound which ionizes completely or almost completely in aqueous solution.

The corresponing basic equivalents are the strong bases.

Examples of strong acids:

• Hydrochloric acid
• Nitric acid
• Sulphuric acid
• Hydrobromic acid[?]
• Hydroiodic acid[?]
• Trichloro acetic acid[?]
• Perchloric acid

Differentiating between the strength of the strong acids in aqueous solutions is impossible, because the concentration of hydrogen ions is always equal to the concentration of the acid. Only through replacing water with concentrated Acetic acid as a diluent one can observe and measure diference in the tendency to dissociate the proton ion, among the strong acids.

(The analogical way to differentiate between strength of the strong bases is to use liquid ammonia as a diluent, instead of water).

See also: Weak acid

External links:

• http://learn.chem.vt.edu/tutorials/acidbase/strongacid.html
• http://www.cm.utexas.edu/academic/courses/Spring2002/CH301/McDevitt/strong.htm
• http://jchemed.chem.wisc.edu/Journal/Issues/2000/Jul/abs849.html