Question

Which is the stronger acid in each of the following pairs $HBr{O_2}$ or $HBrO$ ?

Answer 1

An oxyacid is an acid that contains at least one of the other elements as well as an oxygen atom that is bonded to the hydrogen atom. The majority of covalent non-metallic oxides react with water to generate acidic oxides, or oxyacids, which yield hydronium ions ( ${H_3}{O^ + }$ ) in solution.

Complete answer:
The acidity of oxyacids with the same central atom increases as the number of atoms bonded to the central atom increases.
Thus, we can predict that $HBr{O_2}$ should be a stronger acid than $HBrO$ .This can be confirmed by their ${K_a}$ values. An acid dissociation constant ${K_a}$ (also known as acidity constant, or acid-ionization constant) is a quantitative measure of the strength of an acid in solution. It is known as the equilibrium constant for a chemical reaction.
$HBr{O_2}$ has ${K_a} = 1.2 \times {10^{ - 5}}$
$HBrO$ has ${K_a} = 2 \times {10^{ - 9}}$
Hence, we can conclude that ${K_a}$ of $HBr{O_2}$ is smaller than ${K_a}$ of $HBrO$ .
A large ${K_a}$ value indicates a strong acid because it means the acid is largely dissociated into its ions. A large ${K_a}$ value also means the formation of products in the reaction is favoured. A small ${K_a}$ value means little of the acid dissociates, so you have a weak acid.
Therefore, $HBr{O_2}$ is a stronger acid than $HBrO$ .

Note:
Acidic solutions have a $pH$ value ranging from $0$ to $7$ on the scale, while basic solutions have a $pH$ value ranging from $7$ to $14$ on the $pH$ scale. Neutral solutions are those that have a $pH$ of $7$ or higher on the $pH$ scale.