Understanding Strong and Weak Acids and Bases

I want to introduce you to a couple of different categories of acids and bases — strong and weak. Strength refers to the amount of ionization or breaking apart that a particular acid or base undergoes.

Acid-base strength is not the same as concentration. Concentration refers to the amount of acid or base that you initially have. You can have a concentrated solution of a weak acid, or a dilute solution of a strong acid, or a concentrated solution of a strong acid or . . . well, I’m sure you get the idea.

Remember, an acid yields hydronium ions (H₃O⁺) and a base reacts with them. Many times that base will be the hydroxide ion (OH^-). The concentrations of these acid and base ions will prove to be important to us.