A cetic acid is an acid according to the broncid and lary definition because it has a hydrogen to give away. When a cetic acid is dissolved in water, it dissociates to form acetate and a free hydrogen atom. It is this hydrogen atom that causes the water solution to be acidic. Let's observe what happens when this hydrogen atom is added to a base. Let's take, for example, sodium bicarbonate. When sodium bicarbonate is dissolved in a solution of water, sodium leads the bicarbonate. This allows a negative recharge to bicarbonate to combine with the positive recharge to hydrogen. This causes the formation of carbonic acid. You have just observed an acid base reaction. So let's try in the lab. Here we have baking soda, which is sodium bicarbonate, which will act as our base. Here we have apple cider vinegar, which contains acetic acid, which will act as our acid. Now when we put these together, the acid and the base will neutralize and we'll form water. And sometimes it's very powerful. Let's review our basic acid base reaction. The phenoc acid dissolved in water, to form acetate and a hydrogen atom. We observe the hydrogen atom. Sodium bicarbonate is added, sodium dissolved. The bicarbonate combines with the hydrogen, to form carbonic acid. Well, that is not the end of the story. Carbonic acid is extremely unstable. So when it's in water, it's two hydrogen and one of its oxygens, combined with form H2O. They're remaining carbon and two oxygens, combined with form CO2. The products then are water and carbon dioxide. It is the carbon dioxide that causes the fizz, which is not actually part of the acid base reaction.