Are you a local student in Singapore?

Or are you taking GCE O Level Examinations?

Acids are indeed covalent compounds (we usually call them molecular compounds). This can be verified based on the Dot-and-Cross Diagrams that we normally draw for HCl – which shows H and Cl atoms sharing electrons in order to achieve Noble Gas Configurations.

But as what i have mentioned above, HCl do dissociates in the pressence of water due to this term called “electronegativities”. This is not required / covered in GCE O Levels & equivalent basic chemistry examinations.

Hope this explanation helps.

To Your Academic Success in Chemistry,
Sean Chua
Master Trainer @ SimpleChemConcepts.com
Author of Up Your Chemistry Grades Now! book