acids and bases: The Arrhenius Theory

When an acid or base dissolves in water, a certain percentage of the acid or base particles will break up, or dissociate (see dissociation), into oppositely charged ions. The Arrhenius theory defines an acid as a compound that can dissociate in water to yield hydrogen ions, H⁺, and a base as a compound that can dissociate in water to yield hydroxide ions, OH⁻ . For example, hydrochloric acid, HCl, dissociates in water to yield the required hydrogen ions, H⁺, and also chloride ions, Cl⁻ . The base sodium hydroxide, NaOH, dissociates in water to yield the required hydroxide ions, OH⁻, and also sodium ions, Na⁺.

Sections in this article:

• Introduction
• The Lewis Theory
• The Brönsted-Lowry Theory
• The Arrhenius Theory
• Acid-Base Theories
• Classification
• Properties

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2024, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

See more Encyclopedia articles on: Chemistry: General