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Marc Schneider

Which acid is strongest among HCl, H2SO4, and nitric acid?

Connie Adams  Follow

Strength of an acid is defined by its pKa value. Smaller the number stronger the acid.

The pKa value of HCl is approximately -7

The pKa value of H2SO4 is approximately -3

The pKa value of HNO3 is approximately -1.3

So HCl is strongest of all. There are some super acids, like fluroantimonic acid, that are 100 times more stronger than sulfuric acid.

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Deepika Rai  Follow

Exactly it depends on the solvent,in water they have the same acidity but if the same concentrated solute is added into pure HAc,the PKa of these acids in decreasing order is HNO3>HCl>H2SO4,which means the H2SO4 is the strongest acid. These effects are leveling effect(in water)and differentiating effect (in HAc).

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