Hydrochloric acid

High school (ages 12+)
Science & Technology

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/hydrochloric-acid

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the scientific name?Hydrochloric acid
2. What is the chemical formula?HCl (aq)
3. What is hydrochloric acid and why is it important in our stomach?Hydrochloric acid is a strong acid that lives in our stomach. It helps break down food, turns pepsinogen into pepsin, and kills germs that might make us sick.
4. How does hydrochloric acid help us digest proteins?It makes the stomach very acidic, which turns pepsinogen into the enzyme pepsin. Pepsin then unravels proteins so other enzymes can finish the job.

Brønsted-Lowry Acid: A substance that can donate a proton (H⁺ ion) in a chemical reaction.
Denaturation: The process where a protein loses its structure and function due to external stress.
Catalyst: A substance that increases the rate of a chemical reaction without itself undergoing permanent change.