The strengths and weaknesses of acids and bases - George Zaidan and Charles Morton
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TEDEd Animation
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Vinegar may have a powerful smell, but did you know it's actually a weak acid? In the chemical economy, acids actively give away their protons while bases actively collect them -- but some more aggressively than others. George Zaidan and Charles Morton use the currency of subatomic particles to explain this unseen exchange.
Two important characteristics of acids and bases are: (1) strength and (2) concentration. We talked about strength in the video, but not concentration. What is the difference between a strong acid and a weak acid? Vinegar is about 5% acetic acid. Is this a measure of its strength or concentration? If you were given the choice between drinking a solution of 0.1% hydrochloric acid (a strong acid) to 70% acetic acid (a weak acid), which would you choose and why? Is there any additional information you’d need to answer this question? (Note: DON’T DRINK THINGS THAT AREN’T MEANT TO BE DRUNK. THIS IS PURELY A THOUGHT EXPERIMENT.)
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Meet The Creators
- Educator George Zaidan, Charles Morton
- Animator James Hing, Tony Clarke
- Artist Harj Bains
- Composer Graham Silcock
- Narrator George Zaidan
