Ionization

[Jocelynn Franco 1L]

Dr. Lavelle kept talking about the ionization of acids and bases, can someone explain the ionization of acids and bases: specifically why strong acids and bases are completely ionized while weak acids and bases are not completely ionized.

[August_Blatney_1A]

When he mentions that an acid or base is ionized it means that it dissociates completely. For example if HCl were mixed with water, if it is completely ionized, all the HCl in the solution break apart into H+ and Cl-. This makes it a strong acid because there is more H+ in the solution to bind with H2O and form H3O+. Same thing with bases that are completely ionized. For example NaOH dissociates into Na+ and OH- which increases the OH- concentration making it more basic. Weak acids arn't completely ionized meaning they don't dissociate as much and don't add as much H+ to the solution as a strong acid that totally breaks down and adds lots of H+ to the solution decreasing the pH levels.

[indigoaustin 3H]

This is in reference to this dissociation of acids/bases in water. Strong acids/bases dissociate completely in water, while weak acids/bases dissociate incompletely. The strength of an acid/base corresponds to the bond strength, where weaker bonds break more easily and therefore are stronger due to their dissociation/ionization.

[Ethan Mai 1D]

When strong acids and bases are able to completely ionize, they are better able to serve their role as an acid or base. For example, when HCl is able to fully dissociate, there are more protons floating around in solution that can be donated to a base. I am unsure of how this concept applies to bases, if anyone would like to elaborate?

[Neha Jonnalagadda 2D]

Strong bases and acids are fully "ionized" because they fully dissociate, while weak bases and acids are partially "ionized" because they do not fully dissociate into ions.