tribasic acid
- noun
- /traɪˈbeɪsɪk ˈæsɪd/
- Specialized
:
ácido tribásico
- Each molecule of a tribasic acid can donate three hydrogen ions in reaction with a base.
Examples
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Phosphoric acid is a classic example of a tribasic acid in inorganic chemistry.
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Citric acid acts as a tribasic acid because it contains three ionizable protons.
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A tribasic acid can donate three protons.
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The tribasic acids are important in various chemical reactions.
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Citric acid acts as a tribasic acid because it contains three ionizable protons.
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Each molecule of a tribasic acid can donate three hydrogen ions in reaction with a base.
-
Phosphoric acid is a classic example of a tribasic acid in inorganic chemistry.
Synonyms
An acid that can give away more than one hydrogen atom
How Basic
Surface Forms
Morphology
tribasic + acid
The phrase is partially compositional: the prefix tri- signals ‘three’ and acid identifies the semantic field, so a learner who recognises these parts can infer it refers to an acid involving three units. However, the role of 'basic' in this technical compound and the exact sense (three replaceable protons) depend on domain-specific chemistry knowledge and is not fully predictable to a B1 learner, so it is only partially transparent.
Etymology
Tribasic acid comes from tri- meaning 'three' and basic showing the acid has three replaceable hydrogen atoms. Picture a molecule with three little 'H' atoms that a 'base' can take away, so the acid can lose hydrogen three times.
