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nitric acid

(Encyclopedia)nitric acid, chemical compound, HNO3, colorless, highly corrosive, poisonous liquid that gives off choking red or yellow fumes in moist air. It is miscible with water in all proportions. It forms an a...

acid rain

(Encyclopedia)acid rain or acid deposition, form of precipitation (rain, snow, sleet, or hail) containing high levels of sulfuric or nitric acids (pH below 5.5–5.6). Produced when sulfur dioxide and various nitro...

benzoic acid

(Encyclopedia)benzoic acid bĕnzōˈĭk [key], C6H5CO2H, crystalline solid organic acid that melts at 122℃ and boils at 249℃. It is the simplest aromatic carboxylic acid (see aryl group and carboxyl group). In ...

succinic acid

(Encyclopedia)succinic acid: see Krebs cycle.

tartaric acid

(Encyclopedia)tartaric acid, HO2CCHOHCHOHCO2H, white crystalline dicarboxylic acid. It occurs as three distinct isomers, the dextro-, levo-, and meso- forms. The dextro- and levo- forms are optically active; the me...

tetrahydrofolic acid

(Encyclopedia)tetrahydrofolic acid: see coenzyme. ...

sulfonic acid

(Encyclopedia)sulfonic acid səlfŏnˈĭk [key], organic compound containing the functional group RSO2OH, which consists of a sulfur atom, S, bonded to a carbon atom that may be part of a large aliphatic or aromati...

sulfuric acid

(Encyclopedia)sulfuric acid, chemical compound, H2SO4, colorless, odorless, extremely corrosive, oily liquid. It is sometimes called oil of vitriol. Although sulfuric acid is now one of the most widely used c...