Question

(a) What is an alkali? Give an example.
(b) Why do $HCl$ , $HN{O_3}$ etc. show acidic characters in aqueous solutions while solutions of compounds like alcohols and glucose do not show acidic character?

Answer 1

In order to this question, first we will explain about an alkali and then we will give the example of an alkali. And then we will give the reason why the given compounds show acidic characters and why alcohols and glucose do not show acidic characters.

Complete step by step answer:
(a) In chemistry, an alkali is a basic, ionic salt of an alkali metal or an alkaline earth metal. An alkali can also be defined as a base that dissolves in water. A solution of a soluble base has a pH greater than 7.0. The adjective alkaline is commonly, and alkalescent less often, used in English as a synonym for basic, especially for bases soluble in water. This broad use of the term is likely to have come about because alkalis were the first bases known to obey the Arrhenius definition of a base, and they are still among the most common bases.
A compound with particular chemical properties including turning litmus blue and neutralizing or effervescing with acids; typically, a caustic or corrosive substance of this kind such as lime or soda.
(b) Solutions like $HCl$ , $HN{O_3}$ etc. get ionised in aqueous solutions and due to the presence of ${H^ + }$ ions, they show acidic characters.
While solutions of compounds like alcohol and glucose do not form any such ions so they do not show acidic characters.

Note: Now, the question arises here that what is the reason behind the alcohol not showing acidic character. The solution of compounds like alcohol and glucose do not show acidic character because they do not ionize in water to produce hydrogen ions or any other ions in solution.