Why organic acids are weaker
acids than mineral acids.
Answers
Answer:
For the purposes of this topic, we are going to take the definition of an acid as "a substance which donates hydrogen ions (protons) to other things". We are going to get a measure of this by looking at how easily the acids release hydrogen ions to water molecules when they are in solution in water.
An acid in solution sets up this equilibrium:
A hydroxonium ion is formed together with the anion (negative ion) from the acid.
This equilibrium is sometimes simplified by leaving out the water to emphasise the ionisation of the acid.
If you write it like this, you must include the state symbols - "(aq)". Writing H+(aq) implies that the hydrogen ion is attached to a water molecule as H3O+. Hydrogen ions are always attached to something during chemical reactions.