Which question should be asked prior to naming an acid?

• A. Does the acid contain oxygen?
• B. Does the acid have a metal cation?
• C. Is the acid a strong or weak acid?
• D. Is the acid soluble in water?

Answer: (A)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Understand that naming acids depends primarily on their composition, especially whether they contain oxygen or not.
2. Recognize that acids without oxygen are named as 'hydro-' + root of the nonmetal + '-ic acid' (e.g., HCl is hydrochloric acid).
3. For acids containing oxygen (oxoacids), the naming depends on the polyatomic ion present: if the ion ends in '-ate', the acid name ends in '-ic acid'; if it ends in '-ite', the acid name ends in '-ous acid'.
4. Therefore, the first and most important question to ask before naming an acid is: 'Does the acid contain oxygen?'. This determines the naming pathway to follow.
5. Other questions like metal cation presence, acid strength, or solubility are secondary and do not directly affect the basic naming conventions of acids.