dibasic acid
- noun
- /ˈdaɪˌbeɪsɪk ˈæsɪd/
- Specialized
:
ácido dibásico
- Sulfuric acid is a dibasic acid because it can donate two protons per molecule.
Examples
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When titrating a dibasic acid, two equivalence points are observed.
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A dibasic acid can react with two moles of a base.
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Phosphoric acid is another common example of a dibasic acid in chemistry.
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Many dibasic acids are used in industrial applications.
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Phosphoric acid is a well-known example of a dibasic acid used in soft drinks.
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Sulfuric acid, which is a dibasic acid, is important in various chemical processes.
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In organic chemistry, a common dibasic acid like maleic acid can form two distinct salts.
How Basic
Surface Forms
Morphology
dibasic + acid
The element 'di-' (two) plus 'acid' makes the phrase partly compositional so a learner could guess it refers to an acid involving 'two' of something. However, the precise sense — two replaceable hydrogen atoms (ability to form two salts) — is specialized chemical knowledge and not fully predictable from everyday meanings of the parts, so a B1 learner would only get a rough partial sense without domain knowledge.
Etymology
Dibasic acid comes from di- meaning 'two' and basic showing it can 'give away' two hydrogen atoms. Imagine the acid holding two small hydrogen 'tokens' it can hand to a base, so it can react twice and form two salts — that's why the name means an acid that donates two hydrogens.
