Why is nitric acid a stronger acid than ethanoic acid in terms of their shell structures?

Question

I need to know why nitric acids structure is so important in terms of why its stronger

Answer 1

For nitric acid (HNO3) because there are 2 other electronegative oxygens around the nitrogen (in addition to the one that lost the proton) it helps stabilize the NO3- anion so the H+ ion can dissociate completely.

For ethanoic acid (CH3COOH) we only have one other oxygen (a carbonyl group) to stabilise the oxygen that loses the proton, so dissociation is not complete.

Answer 2

Nitrogen and oxygen use the same level of s and p orbitals, however nitrogen has the highest number of protons and therefore is more electronegative than oxygen, as a result the p shell orbitals draw the electron cloud in that much more allowing for easier disassociaton of the proton.

Answer 3

hi Qb_Master: pKa for HNO3 = -a million.4 [a million] "In dilute aqueous answer, nitric acid is approximately ninety 3% dissociated at 0.1M concentration." [2]. on the different hand, pKa for HCl = ?8.0 [3] So HCl is a few million situations an effective acid than HNO3. can in all probability be rationalized that the O-H bond in HNO3 is superior than the H-Cl bond: greater advantageous overlap 1s-2p vs 1s-3p. Cheers, drp