The identity of a substance is defined not only by the types of atoms or ions it contains but by the quantity of each type of atom or ion. For example, water, H2O, and hydrogen peroxide, H2O2, are alike in that their respective molecules are composed of hydrogen and oxygen atoms. However, because a hydrogen peroxide molecule contains two oxygen atoms, as opposed to the water molecule, which has only one, the two substances exhibit very different properties.

The volume occupied by one mole of a substance is its molar volume. The ideal gas law, PV = nRT,  suggests that the volume of a given quantity of gas and the number of moles in a given volume of gas vary with changes in pressure and temperature. At standard temperature and pressure, or STP (273.15 K and 1 atm), one mole of an ideal gas (regardless of its identity) has a volume of about 22.4 L — this is referred to as the standard molar volume.

The relative amount of a given solution component is known as its concentration. Often, though not always, a solution contains one component with a concentration that is significantly greater than that of all other components. This component is called the solvent and may be viewed as the medium in which the other components are dispersed or dissolved. Solutions in which water is the solvent are, of course, very common on our planet. A solution in which water is the solvent is called an aqueous...

A strong acid is a compound that dissociates completely in an aqueous solution and produces a concentration of hydronium ions equal to the initial concentration of acid. For example, 0.20 M hydrobromic acid will dissociate completely in water and produces 0.20 M of hydronium ions and 0.20 M of bromide ions.

Compared with pure water, the solubility of an ionic compound is less in aqueous solutions containing a common ion (one also produced by dissolution of the ionic compound). This is an example of a phenomenon known as the common ion effect, which is a consequence of the law of mass action that may be explained using Le Chȃtelier’s principle. Consider the dissolution of silver iodide:

Few compounds act as strong acids. A far greater number of compounds behave as weak acids and only partially react with water, leaving a large majority of dissolved molecules in their original form and generating a relatively small amount of hydronium ions. Weak acids are commonly encountered in nature, being the substances partly responsible for the tangy taste of citrus fruits, the stinging sensation of insect bites, and the unpleasant smells associated with body odor. A familiar example of a...