Does this mean that SO2 grabs an Oxygen out of every second OH(-) group present in the solution?

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1 Answer
anor277
Feb 10, 2016

Probably not. It means that the sulfur oxides are the acid anhydrides of common acids.

Explanation:

So what is an acid anhydride? It is the acid LESS the elements of water, #H_2O#. The acid anhydride of sulfuric acid #H_2SO_4# is #SO_3(g)#, the acid anhydride of sulfurous acid, #H_2SO_3# is #SO_2(g)#. Of course, these are formalisms, but they do help us to rationalize reactivity as an acid-base phenomenon when the sulfur oxides are dissolved in water.

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