What is an acidic solution?
We define an acidic solution as one that has a higher concentration of hydrogen ions than of hydroxyl ions. A basic solution is the reverse of this, and a solution is acid-base neutral in the rare circumstance where the concentrations are exactly the same! Simplistically, we then say that an acid is something that makes a solution more acidic, while a base does the opposite! Note that already the Scandinavian hackles rise, as they fashionably follow Bronsted with his definition of an acid as a “proton donor” and so on – but we have done nothing wicked – we simply use a convenient definition that will have great utility in the clinical arena. We are not pooh-poohing Bronsted, we are simply applying a useful label! What is a strong electrolyte? Another convenience is to categorise substances that dissociate when put into water (electrolytes) into two groups. If they dissociate almost totally in the pH range we are interested in, we call them strong electrolytes – if only partially dissoc
