Chemistry – Strong Acids and Bases

Note that almost any other ionic compound may be considered weak!

Strong Acid - An acid that completely disassociates in aqueous solution.

Strong Base - A base that completely disassociates in aqueous solution.

The best way to learn the difference between strong and weak acids and bases is to simply memorize the strong acids and bases! These are the strong acids and bases that most chemistry-affiliated courses in high schools and colleges will involve:

Strong acids are:

Hydroiodic Acid – HI

Hydrobromic Acid – HBr

Hydrochloric Acid – HCl

Chloric Acid – HClO3

Perchloric Acid – HClO4

Sulfuric Acid – H2SO4

Nitric Acid – HNO3

It is most commonly misconstrued that because Fluorine is a halogen HF consitutes as a strong acid, but this is false. Hydrofluoric acid is unable to completely disassociate because bonds formed by fluorine are extremely difficult to break.

Strong bases are:

Sodium Hydroxide – NaOH

Potassium Hydroxide – KOH

Lithium Hydroxide – LiOH

Rubidium Hydroxide – RbOH

Cesium Hydroxide – CsOH

Calcium Hydroxide – Ca(OH)2

Barium Hydroxide – Ba(OH)2

Strontium Hydroxide – Sr(OH)2

Note that Calcium, Barium and Strontium Hydroxide are not very soluble in water.