If a strong acid has a pH of 2, which category does it belong to?

If a strong acid has a pH of 2, which category does it belong to?

• A. Strong acid
• B. Weak acid
• C. Neutral
• D. Base

Answer: (A)

pH measures how acidic a solution is. A pH of 2 means the solution is strongly acidic, with a high concentration of hydronium ions. The term strong acid describes how completely the acid dissociates in water—strong acids dissociate fully, producing many H+ ions and thus a low pH like 2. Therefore, the correct category is a strong acid. It wouldn’t be neutral (pH ~7) or a base (pH >7). A weak acid only partially dissociates and would not reach such a low pH unless its concentration was extremely high, but this item specifies the substance as strong, so it clearly belongs to the strong acid category.

pH measures how acidic a solution is. A pH of 2 means the solution is strongly acidic, with a high concentration of hydronium ions. The term strong acid describes how completely the acid dissociates in water—strong acids dissociate fully, producing many H+ ions and thus a low pH like 2. Therefore, the correct category is a strong acid. It wouldn’t be neutral (pH ~7) or a base (pH >7). A weak acid only partially dissociates and would not reach such a low pH unless its concentration was extremely high, but this item specifies the substance as strong, so it clearly belongs to the strong acid category.