What are the similarities between organic and inorganic acids?

1 Answer
Dec 23, 2015

They both dissociate partially in water to give "H"^+ and a conjugate base (the anion).

Explanation:

For example:

Inorganic (Hydrochloric acid)
"HCl" + "H"_2"O" -> "H"_3"O"^+ + "Cl"^-

Organic (acetic acid)
"CH"_3"COOH" + "H"_2"O" rightleftharpoons "H"_3"O"^+ + "CH_3COO"^-

The difference lies in the conjugate base.