Which statement about acids is true?
a. Weak acids have a pH of less than 2.
b. The pH value of acids can only be measured in aqueous form.
c. The stronger the acid, the higher the pH value.
d. Strong acids have a low percent ionization.
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Strong and Weak Acids and Acid Ionization Constant
Acids are classified as either strong or weak, based on their ionization in water. A strong acid is an acid which is completely ionized in an aqueous solution. Hydrogen chloride (HCl) ionizes completely into hydrogen ions and chloride ions in water.
text{HCl}(g) rightarrow text{H}^+(aq) + text{Cl}^-(aq)
A weak acid is an acid that ionizes only slightly in an aqueous solution. Acetic acid (found in vinegar) is a very common weak acid. Its ionization is shown below.
text{CH}_3text{COOH}(aq) rightleftarrows text{H}^+(aq) + text{CH}_3text{COO}^-(aq)
The ionization of acetic acid is incomplete, and so the equation is shown with a double arrow. The extent of ionization of weak acids varies, but is generally less than 10%. A 0.10 M solution of acetic acid is only about 1.3% ionized, meaning that the equilibrium strongly favors the reactants.
Weak acids, like strong acids, ionize to yield the H + ion and a conjugate base. Because HCl is a strong acid, its conjugate base (Cl − ) is extremely weak. The chloride ion is incapable of accepting the H + ion and becoming HCl again. In general, the stronger the acid, the weaker its conjugate base. Likewise, the weaker the acid, the stronger its conjugate base.
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