Acid-base equilibria
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Can you define a monobasic and dibasic acid for me please?
Igloo writes
A monobasic acid is defined as one for which one mole of the acid is completely neutralized by one mole of sodium or potassium hydroxide, e.g. hydrochloric acid, HCl, ethanoic acid, CH3COOH:
HCl(aq) + NaOH(aq) -> NaCl(aq) + H2O(l)
CH3COOH(aq) + KOH(aq) -> CH3COOK(aq) + H2O(l)
A dibasic acid is defined as one for which one mole of the acid is completely neutralized by two moles of sodium or potassium hydroxide, e.g. sulphuric acid, H2SO4 and ethanedioic acid, (COOH)2.
H2SO4(aq) + 2KOH(aq) -> K2SO4(aq) + 2H2O(l)
(COOH)2(aq) + 2NaOH(aq) -> (COONa)2(aq) + 2H2O(l)
The expressions “monobasic” and “dibasic” are often regarded nowadays as being rather old-fashioned, in that it does seem rather strange to be using the word “basic” when describing an acid. Since acids give rise to aqueous protons, H+(aq), in aqueous solutions, it is more usual these days to use the words “monoprotic” and “diprotic” instead.
One mole of a monoprotic acid (e.g. HCl) is capable of providing one mole of hydrogen ions (protons), H+, when neutralized, and an analogous definition applies to diprotic acids (e.g. H2SO4).
Risk assessment
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updated: 21 August 2003
