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For example, acetic acid is a weak acid which has a = 1.75 x 10 −5. Its conjugate base is the acetate ion with K b = 10 −14 /K a = 5.7 x 10 −10 (from the relationship K a × K b = 10 −14), which certainly does not correspond to a strong base. The conjugate of a weak acid is often a weak base and vice versa.
A weak acid may be defined as an acid with pK a greater than about −2. An acid with pK a = −2 would be 99 % dissociated at pH 0, that is, in a 1 M HCl solution. Any acid with a pK a less than about −2 is said to be a strong acid. Strong acids are said to be fully dissociated.
For example, carbon monoxide is a very weak Brønsted–Lowry base but it forms a strong adduct with BF 3. In another comparison of Lewis and Brønsted–Lowry acidity by Brown and Kanner, [ 19 ] 2,6-di- t -butylpyridine reacts to form the hydrochloride salt with HCl but does not react with BF 3 .
On the other hand, if a chemical is a weak acid its conjugate base will not necessarily be strong. Consider that ethanoate, the conjugate base of ethanoic acid, has a base splitting constant (Kb) of about 5.6 × 10 −10, making it a weak base. In order for a species to have a strong conjugate base it has to be a very weak acid, like water.
Nitric acid, with a pK value of around −1.7, behaves as a strong acid in aqueous solutions with a pH greater than 1. [23] At lower pH values it behaves as a weak acid. pK a values for strong acids have been estimated by theoretical means. [24] For example, the pK a value of aqueous HCl has been estimated as −9.3.
HSAB is an acronym for "hard and soft (Lewis) acids and bases".HSAB is widely used in chemistry for explaining the stability of compounds, reaction mechanisms and pathways. It assigns the terms 'hard' or 'soft', and 'acid' or 'base' to chemical species.
A typical titration curve of a diprotic acid, oxalic acid, titrated with a strong base, sodium hydroxide.Both equivalence points are visible. Titrations are often recorded on graphs called titration curves, which generally contain the volume of the titrant as the independent variable and the pH of the solution as the dependent variable (because it changes depending on the composition of the ...
Acetic acid is an example of a weak acid. The pH of the neutralized solution resulting from HA + OH − → H 2 O + A −. is not close to 7, as with a strong acid, but depends on the acid dissociation constant, K a, of the acid. The pH at the end-point or equivalence point in a titration may be calculated as follows.