Question

Why do acids not show acidic behavior in the absence of water?

Answer 1

Hint: An acid is any hydrogen-containing substance that is capable of donating a proton (hydrogen ion) to another substance. A base is a molecule or ion able to accept a hydrogen ion from an acid. Acids are corrosive.

Complete answer:

Acidic substances are usually identified by their sour taste. An acid is basically a molecule which can donate an ${{H}^{+}}$ ion and can remain energetically favourable after a loss of ${{H}^{+}}$. Acids are known to turn blue litmus red.

Strong acids and strong bases refer to species that completely dissociate to form ions in solution. By contrast, weak acids and bases ionize only partially, and the ionization reaction is reversible. Thus, weak acid and base solutions contain multiple charged and uncharged species in dynamic equilibrium.

Strong acids dissociate completely in aqueous solution and have negative values for Ka. We can assume that the ${{H}^{+}}$ in a solution of a strong acid is equal to the initial concentration of the acid. Weak acids are only partially dissociated in aqueous solution. The Ka values describe the equilibrium and the

$p{K_a}$ $= {-log}{K_a}$.

The acidic behaviour of acid is due to the presence of hydrogen ions. The acids will not show its acidic behaviour in the absence of water, this is because acids do not dissociate to produce ${{H}^{+}}$ (aq) ions in the absence of water.

Note: In a strong acid, such as hydrochloric acid ($HCl$), all hydrogen ions (${{H}^{+}}$), and chloride ions ($C{{l}^{-}}$ ) dissociate (separate) when placed in water and these ions are no longer held together by ionic bonding.