Molarity (M) is defined as moles of solute per liter of solution while Normality (N) is defined as moles of reacting units per liter of solution. Most texts use sulfuric acid as an example to demonstrate the difference: a 1 M solution of sulfuric acid is 2 N because each mole of sulfuric acid gives two moles of $\ce{H+}$ (the "reacting unit"). Why then is concentrated sulfuric acid labeled as 18 N when it should be 18 M and 36 N (according to my text's example above)?
