Formic acid, HCOOH, is responsible for the painful bites of fire ants. Is formic acid a strong or weak acid? Explain.
2007-01-17 12:43:31 · 2 answers · asked by untilyoucamealong04 3 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Chemistry
weak. There are only a few strong acid which include HCl (Hydrochloric acid), as well as the other acids that are included in the halides except for one, Florine b/c the bond is too strong to dissociate.
Formic acid is weak b/c of the COOH group in its chemical formula. These are organic acids, which all of them are weak acids.
Hope this helps!!
2007-01-17 12:51:58 · answer #1 · answered by Shi Yoyo 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
One cannot tell from the information given. Formic acid is actually a weak acid. The Ka is about 10 to the minus 5. This is from my own experience. Suppose fire ants could deliver a blast of hydrochloric acid. That would be painful. Suppose what people call "formic acid" is actually an amino acid like lysine. (Lysine is actually a "basic" amino acid.) And suppose fire ants injected lysine with each bite. Persons would exclaim, "Wow! That's a strong acid! Wow! That's a pretty painful weak acid!! Wow! I didn't know that bases could sting like acids!"
2007-01-17 12:57:13 · answer #2 · answered by steve_geo1 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋