i am doing a chemistry project for school and i thought that since alot of you have attended higher learning or are currently, maybe you can lend me a hand. the question is: hydroflouric acid is a fairly weak acid. It does not burn the skin the way sulfuric acid and other strong acids do. Find an explanation of why this acid can greatly damage body tissue when it comes into contact with the skin.
any help would be GREATLY appreciated

 

why would a weak acid harm skin? are you asking why acids cause harm to skin?

 

i copied the q exactly from the book, i think they want to know why the acid would burn your skin (sulfuric) and why the other will not (hydroflouric) atleast thats what i got from it

 

corrosion?

 

well i know sulfuric acid is stronger than other acids (like HF or HCl) because:

A. H2SO4 has TWO H+ ions instead of one, and

B. it just so happens that the ions dissociate in solution much more than other acids (some might only ionize 30% or whatever)

im only in a freshman chem class so i cant really tell you any more than that. i cant recall why it burns your skin.

 

okay. did a little reading. it happens that HF is particularly reactive because of the interaction of H+ and F-. not because of its acidity.

edit: it actually says this is because of the combined action of H+ and F- ions.

 

It's a weak acid because there aren't many hydrogen ions. The fluoride ion though is a pretty strong radical, pretty much will corrode anything it touches (that's why hydrofluoric acid is used to etch glass and metal) so it's not the hydrogen ion that burns you, but the fluoride ion.

 

ask avogadro

 

6.02x10^28

 

mole-mole