About Acids:
The Weak and the Strong
In our little aspirin show we've also been talking about "strong" and "weak" acids. What does this mean? Let's talk about our acetylsalicylic acid molecule again. Remember, when we dissolve it in water, the hydrogen ion falls off. But we're going to let you in on a little secret. If we have a cup full of acetylsalicylic acid dissolved in water, not every molecule of acetylsalicylic acid in that cup is going to lose a hydrogen ion. In fact, most of them won't. Only some will lose a hydrogen ion. This makes acetylsalicylic acid a weak acid.
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| This only happens to some of the acetylsalicylic acid molecules that are dissolved in water. |
Now let's look at a molecule of hydrochloric acid, or HCl. When it is dissolved in water every molecule of this acid will lose a hydrogen ion. There aren't any HCl molecules left intact. There are only Cl- and H+ ions. This makes hydrochloric acid a strong acid.
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| This happens to every hydrochloric acid molecules that is dissolved in water. |
Can you remember that? In a strong acid, every molecule of the acid loses a hydrogen ion. In a weak acid, only some of the acid molecules lose hydrogen ions.
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