While the other questions cover the issue fairly well, they omit one fairly important pragmatic reason for the strength of sulfuric acid over hydrochloric: Sulfuric acid is a liquid, and may be almost pure. Hydrochloric acid is hydrogen chloride gas dissolved in water, with a maximum concentration of about 38%. read more
Hydrochloric acid is a strong acid -this means it dissociates completely in water. Sulfuric acid has two protons to lose. H2SO4 is a strong acid -it dissociates completely to lose its first proton. read more
Hydrochloric acid is a strong acid -this means it dissociates completely in water. Sulfuric acid has two protons to lose. H2SO4 is a strong acid -it dissociates completely to lose its first proton. HSO4-, however, is a weak acid and dissociates only partially. read more
The acid dissociation constant is a measure of the strength of an acid in water. The more negative the pKa, the stronger the acid. An acid like sulfuric acid that can give away two hydrogen ions has two pKas. The pKa1 for sulfuric acid is -3, while its pKa2 is 1.99. The pKa for muriatic acid, by contrast, is -7. read more
Both hydrochloric acid and sulfuric acid are strong acids. In fact, because the Ka of sulfuric acid is so high, the eleventh edition (newest printed) textbook, Chang's "Chemistry", used in College chemistry, simply states it as "extremely high", assigning no numerical value to it. read more
Both hydrochloric acid and sulfuric acid are strong acids. In fact, because the $K_\mathrm{a}$ of sulfuric acid is so high, the eleventh edition (newest printed) textbook, Chang's "Chemistry", used in College chemistry, simply states it as "extremely high", assigning no numerical value to it. read more