Science, asked by shibubenedict, 1 year ago

“Acids contain Hydrogen. Water too contains Hydrogen, but it is not an acid

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Answered by rishitha106
1
composition of compounds
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Answered by FlynnXD
0
What matters is not the presence of Hydrogen, but rather the presence of an *ionizable* hydrogen atom. That is, whether a H+ ion can be extracted from the molecule easily. The more ease there is, in extracting a H+ ion, the better acid it is. There are scientific terms that describe this very "ease" of H+ removal, namely "degree of dissociation" and "dissociation constant". Say the substance is HX where H is the ionizable hydrogen;

It will dissociate as HX -> (H+) + (X-)

This equation will be in constant equilibrium, that is, only part of HX will give the right hand side, which is why there's the concept of "strong" and "weak" acids. Strong acids tend to completely form right hand side products, whereas weak ones only partially form the right hand side products, and thereby are less acidic.

It can be said that, the relative ease of removal of H+ can depend on stability of X- anion. In case of water, it is not that it's not acidic at all but rather, it's a *very* weak acid (OH- is not great compared to Cl- say, as in HCl, as H2O is more stable, so it tends not to dissociate). It dissociates only to give very minute H+, that's why it's pretty much considered not acidic. However, when temperature is changed, the acidity can be amplified a bit.

But that's why water is not considered a acid, whereas stuff like HCl and H2SO4 are acids, as it's easier to remove the H+.
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