A 1 N HCl solution is prepared by diluting 1 gram equivalent (36.5g) to create 1 liter of solution. HCl is a strong acid, which dissolves readily in water, so the resulting solution is also 1 N for H+ ions and 1 N for Cl- ions, according to About.com.
Because HCl provides 1 mole of H+ ions per mole of HCl, a 1 N HCl solution is also a 1 M HCl solution. Chemical suppliers provide HCl as a concentrated aqueous solution, normally at 12.1 M concentration. Sigma-Aldrich says that diluting 82.5 milliliters of this stock solution to 1 liter creates a 1 M or 1 N HCl solution.
Sulfuric acid, H2SO4, provides 2 mole of H+ ions per mole of H2SO4. Thus, a 1 M HCl solution is 2 N for hydrogen ions and 1 N for sulfate ions.
The gram equivalent weight relates to the molar mass. In HCl, the molar mass is 36.5 grams/mole, the same as the gram equivalent, except the units change to grams/equivalent. However, in H2SO4, the gram equivalent is the molar mass divided by 2 due to the number of hydrogen ions provided when the compound dissolves. The molar mass of H2SO4 is 98.078 grams/mole. Its gram equivalent is 49.039 grams/equivalent.
