Why acid into water

If you add a little concentrated acid to a lot of water, water is the limiting reactant and the resulting solution is more dilute. Here, all the acid reacts, but there is extra water to absorb the heat, lessening the chance of boiling. There are a few factors that make it better to add acid to water.

Also, some strong acids have a higher specific gravity or density than water. In this situation, the liquid readily boils and spits. On the other hand, if you pour acid on top of or into water, the water rises over the acid before mixing and contains the reaction.

Sulfuric acid H 2 SO 4 is the most dangerous common acid to dilute. Using concentrated acids and diluting them down as required helps to save space in the lab and gives you the flexibility to make up any concentration you need. When performing dilutions it is vital to work safely and always add acid to water , not the other way around!

Fully understanding why will help you to remember, and ensure your dilutions are always performed safely. Select personalised content. Create a personalised content profile. Measure ad performance. Select basic ads. Create a personalised ads profile.

Select personalised ads. Apply market research to generate audience insights. Measure content performance. Develop and improve products. List of Partners vendors. Share Flipboard Email. Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph. Students in introductory chemistry classes rarely perform this dilution procedure, because of the high likelihood of accidents.

A large amount of heat is released when strong acids like sulfuric acid and HCl are mixed with water. First, adding more acid releases more heat, as it is exothermic. If you add water to acid it forms an extremely concentrated solution of acid initially. So much heat is released that the solution may boil very violently, splashing concentrated acid out of the container and all this because the reaction is exothermic.

On the other hand, adding acid to water, the solution that forms is very dilute and the small amount of heat released is not enough to vaporize it. So it is always safer to add acid to water, and not water to acid. Sign up to join this community. The best answers are voted up and rise to the top. Stack Overflow for Teams — Collaborate and share knowledge with a private group. Create a free Team What is Teams? Learn more. Why add water first then acid? Ask Question. Asked 9 years, 3 months ago.

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