SOME CHEMICAL CONCEPTS 131 



tinually combining and breaking apart. The water 

 also will be going about in the form of H and OH. 

 Then in the solution we may get some such com- 

 bination as 



H Cl > H and Cl 



H 2 O > H and O H 



These might recombine on the lines 

 H jci " H I o H 



The elements of water may split away through 

 the formation of Hydrochloric acid, as shown by the 

 dotted ring, and it is a commonly known chemical 

 fact that compounds in the act of formation or 

 decomposition will have more active chemical 

 properties than when they are in a stable state. It 

 is perhaps for some such reason as this that a common 

 means for adding the elements of water to a com- 

 pound is to boil with dilute acids. 



The addition of Oxygen to an organic compound 

 may readily result in an acid being formed. Thus, if 



Oxygen were added to any of the bottom C H 



O 



groups in the structural formula given above, an 

 atom of Oxygen would pass in between the Carbon 

 and the Hydrogen to form the typically acid group 



I 

 C H. On the other hand, the addition of 



II 

 O 



Oxygen may destroy the acid properties by eliminat- 



