Covalent Molecules that Form Ions in Solution Acids and Bases

4 COVALENT MOLECULES THAT FORM IONS IN SOLUTION ACIDS AND BASES 

At the outset of this lecture, we mentioned that there are molecules which are composed of covalent bonds, and nevertheless, in solution they produce ions because of a reaction they undergo with water molecules. Chief among these molecules are the ones we call acids and bases. Let me dedicate a few words to these molecules and to the ones they form (salts) when they react with one another. This topic belongs to the dawning of chemistry. 

Acids and bases have been known for millennia. For example, H2SO4 was known by the Sumerians, and most likely the acids HCl and HNO3 were also known since their mixture (called aqua regia— the royal water ) was used to dissolve gold. Alchemists discovered that the stomachs of humans and animals contain acid (HCl), and some of them like van Helmont, who we mentioned before, thought that acids are the force of life. Bases have been known for a long time, and they are even mentioned in the Bible (as neter ) as a means of laundering. 

---