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What makes an acid a strong acid?

Updated: 9/15/2023
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Olimipa

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9y ago

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Metals are needed to make bases, and strong metals - by which I do not mean physically strong, but rather chemically strong, in that they have a particularly weak grip on their valence electrons - make strong bases. And non-metals are needed to make acids, and strong non-metals, meaning those which have a particularly strong attraction to the electrons of other elements - make strong acids. That is why fluorine, the strongest non-metal - in more technical terms, the element with the highest electronegativity - makes the strongest acid, hydrofluoric acid. And the elements with the lowest electronegativity make the strongest bases.

You may wonder how this works. An acid, dissolved in water, releases hydrogen ions, and a base releases hydroxide ions. Hydrogen will ionize most completely when its electron has been taken away by the element with the strongest attraction to electrons. And hydroxide radicals will also ionize most completely when they have taken away electrons from the elements that hold on to their electrons the most weakly. It's all about the hydrogen and the hydroxide. That's what makes things acidic or basic.

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Tiara Lebsack

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2y ago
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Q: What makes an acid a strong acid?
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