Weak Acid
Definition
A weak acid is one that does not completely dissociate into its ions in water, meaning only some of its molecules donate protons when placed in water.
Analogy
Consider weak acids like shy people at a party. They don't mingle (or dissociate) completely with everyone else, but only interact with a few people.
Related terms
Strong Acid: An acid that fully dissociates into its ions in water.
pH: A measure of the acidity or alkalinity of a solution, based on the concentration of hydrogen ions.
Dissociation: The process by which compounds split into smaller constituent molecules, often reversibly.
"Weak Acid" appears in:
Study guides (7)
Practice Questions (5)
- Which of the following is the correct equation for the pH of a weak acid strong base reaction?
- Which of the following pair is a weak acid strong base reaction?
- A solution that contains a weak acid and its conjugate base in roughly equal concentrations is _______________.
- You need to prepare a buffer solution of pH 4.178 from 25.0 mL of 0.282 M solution of a sodium salt of a weak acid, NaA where the pKa of the weak acid HA is 4.270. How many moles of 0.329 M HCl do you need to add to achieve this goal?
- Which of the following statements best describes the difference between a strong acid and a weak acid?
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