Chapter 9, Problem 9.51PP

Summary Introduction

To determine:

The stronger acid, lactic acid or pyruvic acid, which has $\text{p}{K}_{\text{a}}$ value $3.9$ and $2.5$, respectively.

Introduction:

Strong acids readily dissociate into its ions when they are dissolved in water, whereas weak acid partially dissociates into its ions when they are dissolved in water.

The strengths of acids are compared by their $\text{p}{K}_{\text{a}}$ values. The acid that has the lower value of $\text{p}{K}_{\text{a}}$ among the given acid, has high acidic strength.