The strength of an acid is affected by the polarity of the bond connected to the acidic hydrogen. The more highly polarized this bond, the more easily the hydrogen is ionized. Electronegative atoms or groups of atoms present in the structure of an acid can act to withdraw electrons and produce additional polarization. Two common groups of acids to which this principle can be applied are oxoacids and carboxylic acids. In the latter group, the length of the hydrocarbon chain in a carboxylic acid has very little effect on acid strength Longer chains may slightly diminish acidity. Bases act as hydrogen ion acceptors because of the unshared electron pass in their structure. Any group present in a base that withdraws electrons makes these electron pairs less available to accept a hydrogen ion. In contrast, any group that can act as an electron donating group such as hydrocarbon groups (usually represented as II) can increase the base strength. Thus, the addition of electronegative atoms or groups of atoms to the structure of a base decreases the base strength and electron donating groups increase base strength. Many common weak bases are derivatives of ammonia, in which H atom(s) of NH_2 are replaced with other groups.
Arrange the following oxoacids in order of decreasing acid strength. Rank from strongest to weakest acid.
HBrO
HClO
HClO3
HClO2