A strong acid in water undergoes what kind of dissociation?

A strong acid in water undergoes what kind of dissociation?

• A. It dissociates completely
• B. It partially dissociates
• C. It doesn't ionize
• D. It yields OH- predominantly

Answer: (A)

When a strong acid is placed in water, it ionizes completely. This means every molecule donates a proton to water, producing hydronium ions (H3O+) and the corresponding conjugate base (the anion). The equilibrium lies far to the right, so essentially no undissociated acid remains in solution and the solution becomes highly acidic. This is different from weak acids, which only partially dissociate because their dissociation constant is small. The idea of yielding OH− predominantly describes bases, not acids. So complete dissociation is the behavior of strong acids in water.

When a strong acid is placed in water, it ionizes completely. This means every molecule donates a proton to water, producing hydronium ions (H3O+) and the corresponding conjugate base (the anion). The equilibrium lies far to the right, so essentially no undissociated acid remains in solution and the solution becomes highly acidic. This is different from weak acids, which only partially dissociate because their dissociation constant is small. The idea of yielding OH− predominantly describes bases, not acids. So complete dissociation is the behavior of strong acids in water.