What type of arrows do weak acids use in their chemical equations?

Weak acids partially ionize in solution, meaning that they do not fully dissociate into their ions. Instead, a dynamic equilibrium is established between the undissociated acid and the ions formed. This situation is represented in chemical equations using equilibrium arrows, which indicate that the reaction can proceed in both the forward and reverse directions.

Therefore, when depicting the reaction of a weak acid in a chemical equation, the equilibrium arrow is used to represent this balance, emphasizing that the reaction does not go to completion but reaches a state where the concentrations of reactants and products remain constant over time. This characteristic of weak acids differentiates their representation in chemical equations from that of strong acids, which fully dissociate and use single arrows in their equations.