List of Strong Acids: Overview, Questions, Preparation

This chapter has multiple topics listed below:

Acids, Bases and Salts Acid Strength Difference between Acid and Bas...Examples of Bases Zinc carbonate Zinc Nitrate Aluminium Phosphate Aspartic Acid Butyric Acid Tannic acid Uses of Folic Acid Uses of Acetic Acid Lactic Acid formula Uses of Citric Acid Magnesium Nitrate Barium Iodide Dilute Acids Magnesium Phosphate Uses of Hydrochloric Acid List of Strong Acids Butanoic Acid Sodium Chlorate Barium Carbonate Chloroacetic Acid Magnesium Bicarbonate Red Cabbage Indicator Sodium Hexametaphosphate Zinc Hydroxide Potassium Iodate Peroxydisulfuric Acid Ph of Acids and Bases Potassium Bromate Weak Acid Examples Weak Bases Magnesium Hydroxide Monosodium Glutamate Potassium Hydroxide Nitrous Acid Henderson Hasselbalch Equation Difference between Alkali and B...Properties of Bases Sodium Citrate Ammonium Phosphate Chemical Indicators Chromic Acid Perchloric Acid Uses of Sodium Hydroxide Zinc Acetate

Jasleen Taneja

Updated on Jun 4, 2024 16:58 IST

Table of Contents

What is a Strong Acid?
List of Strong Acids
List of Strong Acids For Class X
Illustrated Examples
FAQs on Strong Acids

What is a Strong Acid?

An acid which can release its hydrogen ions into a solution (and loses protons) is a ‘strong acid’. It undergoes complete ionisation in an aqueous solution. Once the strong acid is ionised, it is not reversible. Some of the properties of strong acids are:

They have a pKa
They can be organic or inorganic.
Strong acids can catalyse chemical reactions.

List of Strong Acids

Name of the Acid	Formula of the Acid	pKa
Hydrochloric Acid	HCl	-6.3
Hydrobromic Acid	HBr	-8.7
Hydroiodic Acid	HI	-9.3
Chloric Acid	HClO3	1.0
Perchloric acid	HClO4	-8
Sulphuric Acid	H2SO4	-3
Nitric Acid	HNO3	1.4

Hydrochloric Acid

HCl is an inorganic chemical with a pungent smell. It is corrosive in nature. It acts as a bleaching agent for neutralisation of alkaline agents. HCl is a common ingredient in the food and textile industries.

Hydrobromic Acid

HBr is a colourless or light yellow colour liquid, highly acidic in nature and hazardous. It is used industrially in the production of inorganic bromides and alkyl bromides from alcohols.

Sulphuric Acid

It is a colourless and viscous liquid which is a primary substance in the chemical industry. H2SO4 is used to manufacture fertilizers and some pharmaceutical preparations.

Nitric Acid

HNO3 is a regularly used laboratory reagent, which is prepared by the catalytic oxidation of ammonia. HNO3’s applications include making explosives such as nitroglycerin. Prolonged exposure to the acid results in adverse health effects.

List of Strong Acids For Class X

The chapter of ‘Acids, Bases and Salts’ deals with these chemical substances and their reactions with various metals. The weightage of this topic is less than 10 marks. Questions are in the form of both objective and subjective type.

Illustrated Examples

1. Calculate the pH of a 0.100M hydrochloric acid solution.

Answer: Hydrochloric acid is a strong acid and is completely ionised.

So, [H+ ] = 0.100M

pH = -log( 0.100) =1.00

2. How is the hydronium ions (H3O+) concentration affected when an acid solution is diluted?

Answer: When an acid solution gets diluted, the concentration of hydronium ions (H3O +) per unit volume decreases, which means that the acid’s strength decreases.

3. Which of the following is a strong acid in a water solution?

Answer: HF, HNO3, H2CO3, HCN, H2S, HSO4-, Cl-

HNO3 is a strong acid. All the others are weak acids.

FAQs on Strong Acids

Q: While diluting an acid, why is it recommended that the acid be added to the water, and not the other way around?

A: The process of diluting an acid is an exothermic reaction. When acid is added to water, the latter absorbs excess heat. If we add water to the acidic solution, the heat generated will result in the mixture spilling out and cause burns.

Q: On what factors does the strength of acids or bases depend?

A: The strength of an acid or base depends on the number of H+ and OH- ions. Acids that produce more H+ ions are strong. Thus, those with fewer H+ ions are weak acids.

Q: Why does an aqueous solution of acid conduct electricity?

A: Acids undergo dissociation in water to form H+ ions. These H+ ions combine with water molecules to produce hydronium ions (H3O+). H3O+ are good conductors of electricity. So, an aqueous solution of acid conducts electricity.

Q: What are pH and pKa?

A: pH is a measure of the concentration of hydrogen ions in a solution. Strong acids have low pH values. pKa is the value used to determine the strength of an acid. A low value indicates the complete dissociation of the acid.

Q: How will you differentiate strong and weak acids?

A: The titration curve for a strong acid has a large jump in pH at the equivalence point, while the jump for a weak acid is much smaller. This helps differentiate strong and weak acids if the acid’s concentration value is not much below 0.1M.