Formulas of Common Acids and Bases

Acids and bases are used in many chemical reactions. They are responsible for most color change reaction and are used to adjust the pH of chemical solutions. Here are the names of some of the common acids and bases and the formulas associated with them. Formulas of  Binary Acids A binary compound consists of two elements. Binary acids have the prefix hydro in front of the full name of the nonmetallic element. They have the ending -ic. Examples include hydrochloric, and hydrofluoric acid includes: Hydrofluoric Acid - HFHydrochloric Acid - HClHydrobromic Acid - HBrHydroiodic Acid - HIHydrosulfuric Acid - H2S Formulas of Ternary Acids Ternary acids commonly contain hydrogen, a nonmetal, and oxygen. The name of the most common form of the acid consists of the nonmetal root name with the -ic ending.  The acid containing one less oxygen atom than the most common form is designated by the -ous ending. An acid containing one less oxygen atom than the -ous acid has the prefix hypo- and the -ous ending. The acid containing one more oxygen than the most common acid has the per- prefix and the -ic ending. Nitric Acid  - HNO3Nitrous Acid - HNO2Hypochlorous Acid - HClOChlorous Acid - HClO2Chloric Acid - HClO3Perchloric Acid - HClO4Sulfuric Acid - H2SO4Sulfurous Acid  - H2SO3Phosphoric Acid - H3PO4Phosphorous Acid - H3PO3Carbonic Acid - H2CO3Acetic Acid - HC2H3O2Oxalic Acid - H2C2O4Boric Acid - H3BO3Silicic Acid - H2SiO3 Formulas of Common Bases Here are the formulas for 11 common bases: Sodium Hydroxide  - NaOHPotassium Hydroxide - KOHAmmonium Hydroxide - NH4OHCalcium Hydroxide - Ca(OH)2Magnesium Hydroxide - Mg(OH)2Barium Hydroxide - Ba(OH)2Aluminum Hydroxide - Al(OH)3Ferrous Hydroxide or Iron (II) Hydroxide - Fe(OH)2Ferric Hydroxide or Iron (III) Hydroxide - Fe(OH)3Zinc Hydroxide - Zn(OH)2Lithium Hydroxide - LiOH