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Chapter 16: Problem 59

List four factors that affect the strength of an acid.

Short Answer

Expert verified
Four factors that affect the strength of an acid are: the stability of the conjugate base, the polarity and solubility of the molecule in water, the atomic radius of the central atom, and the electronegativity of the central atom.

Step by step solution

01

Identify the Four Factors

To solve this exercise, the following four factors can be considered: 1. The stability of the conjugate base; 2. The polarity and solubility of the molecule in water; 3. The atomic radius of the central atom; and 4. The electronegativity of the central atom.
02

Explain each Factor

1. The Strength of an acid is influenced by the stability of the conjugate base. A more stable conjugate base leads to a stronger acid.\newline 2. Solubility in water: Substances that can dissolve in water and donate protons tend to be more acidic.\newline 3. The atomic radius of the central atom: Larger central atoms can accommodate negative charge better, thus the strength of an acid increases with the size of the central atom.\newline 4. The electronegativity of the central atom: Higher electronegativity of the central atom assists in stabilizing any extra negative charge, therefore a highly electronegative central atom leads to a strong acid.

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Most popular questions from this chapter

About half of the hydrochloric acid produced annually in the United States \((3.0\) billion pounds \()\) is used for metal pickling. This process involves the removal of metal oxide layers from metal surfaces to prepare them for coating. (a) Write the overall and net ionic equations for the reaction between iron(III) oxide, which represents the rust layer over iron, and HCl. Identify the Bronsted acid and base. (b) Hydrochloric acid is also used to remove scale (which is mostly \(\mathrm{CaCO}_{3}\) ) from water pipes. Hydrochloric acid reacts with calcium carbonate in two stages; the first stage forms the bicarbonate ion, which then reacts further to form carbon dioxide. Write equations for these two stages and for the overall reaction. (c) Hydrochloric acid is used to recover oil from the ground. It dissolves rocks (often \(\mathrm{CaCO}_{3}\) ) so that the oil can flow more easily. In one process, a 15 percent (by mass) HCl solution is injected into an oil well to dissolve the rocks. If the density of the acid solution is \(1.073 \mathrm{~g} / \mathrm{mL}\), what is the \(\mathrm{pH}\) of the solution?

In terms of orbitals and electron arrangements, what must be present for a molecule or an ion to act as a Lewis acid (use \(\mathrm{H}^{+}\) and \(\mathrm{BF}_{3}\) as examples)? What must be present for a molecule or ion to act as a Lewis base (use \(\mathrm{OH}^{-}\) and \(\mathrm{NH}_{3}\) as examples)?

You are given two beakers containing separately an aqueous solution of strong acid (HA) and an aqueous solution of weak acid (HB) of the same concentration. Describe how you would compare the strengths of these two acids by (a) measuring the \(\mathrm{pH},\) (b) measuring electrical conductance, (c) studying the rate of hydrogen gas evolution when these solutions are reacted with an active metal such as \(\mathrm{Mg}\) or \(\mathrm{Zn}\).

The three common chromium oxides are \(\mathrm{CrO}\) \(\mathrm{Cr}_{2} \mathrm{O}_{3},\) and \(\mathrm{CrO}_{3} .\) If \(\mathrm{Cr}_{2} \mathrm{O}_{3}\) is amphoteric, what \(\mathrm{can}\) you say about the acid-base properties of \(\mathrm{CrO}\) and \(\mathrm{CrO}_{3} ?\)

Which of the following is the stronger acid: \(\begin{array}{llll}\mathrm{CH}_{2} \mathrm{ClCOOH} & \text { or } \mathrm{CHCl}_{2} \mathrm{COOH} ? & \text { Explain your }\end{array}\) choice.
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