What is an acid?

1 Answer
Dr. Hayek
May 15, 2016

See below.

Explanation:

There are three definitions of acids that could be found in literature that have been given by four scientists (2 scientists gave the same definition, Brønsted and Lowry):

Arrhenius definition:
Acids: produce hydrogen ions (#H^+#) in aqueous solution. Arrhenius acids include compounds such as #HCl#, #HCN#, and #H_2SO_4# that ionize in water to give the #H^+# ion.

Brønsted-Lowry definition:
Acids: compounds that are proton (#H^+#) donors.
This is similar to the Arrhenius definition but it is more general and it is not limited to aqueous solution only.

Lewis definition:
Acids: compounds that are an electron pair acceptors.

Acids & Bases | Nature, Strength & pH Scale.

Related questions
See all questions in Properties of Acids and Bases
Impact of this question
3022 views around the world
You can reuse this answer
Creative Commons License