Skip to main content
Chemistry

You are not logged in. Your edit will be placed in a queue until it is peer reviewed.

We welcome edits that make the post easier to understand and more valuable for readers. Because community members review edits, please try to make the post substantially better than how you found it, for example, by fixing grammar or adding additional resources and hyperlinks.

13
  • 4
    $\begingroup$ It is surely better to dilute acid by adding water and not viceversa. But it is not that all acids are H2SO4, as far "explosion" is of concern. Plus see answer $\endgroup$
    – Alchimista
    Commented Mar 25, 2018 at 10:18
  • 6
    $\begingroup$ The point of the acid to water rule is to spread the acid around: a given mass of a given type of acid will make a certain amount of heat, and by having all the water already there, you give plenty of heat capacity to spread this heat around. But if there's not too much acid in the first place, then it doesn't matter. $\endgroup$
    – Ian
    Commented Mar 25, 2018 at 18:32
  • 5
    $\begingroup$ @RamKeswani That sounds like safety advice for doing experiments. Safety advice is often much more cautious than is technically necessary. $\endgroup$
    – zwol
    Commented Mar 26, 2018 at 20:19
  • 4
    $\begingroup$ @RamKeswani I'm sorry, it is a shame how lousy textbooks (and teachers!) are especially in developing countries. You should never accept anything written in a book or said by a teacher if it is not satisfactorily, logically explained why and under what circumstances it is the case. $\endgroup$
    – Karl
    Commented Mar 26, 2018 at 21:38
  • 4
    $\begingroup$ The "other answer" would be...evolution. A species with a high enough concentration of acid in its body to explode when water is added would not survive. As mankind is not yet extinct[citation needed], we can assume that evolution has dealt with this and obviously found a way to mitigate this issue. Unfortunately, this answer belongs into Biology, not Chemistry. $\endgroup$
    – Klaws
    Commented Mar 27, 2018 at 8:16