Let us see the structure of ascorbic acid
As shown there is no COOH group however the OH group can lose a proton and forms conjugate base
The conjugate base formed is stabilized due to resonance
More the stability of conjugate base more the strength of acid
Hence ascorbic acid behaves as an acid
This helps increase variation in the offspring.
Answer:

Explanation:
Hello there!
In this case, when considering weak acids which have an associated percent dissociation, we first need to set up the ionization reaction and the equilibrium expression:
![HA\rightleftharpoons H^++A^-\\\\Ka=\frac{[H^+][A^-]}{[HA]}](https://tex.z-dn.net/?f=HA%5Crightleftharpoons%20H%5E%2B%2BA%5E-%5C%5C%5C%5CKa%3D%5Cfrac%7B%5BH%5E%2B%5D%5BA%5E-%5D%7D%7B%5BHA%5D%7D)
Now, by introducing x as the reaction extent which also represents the concentration of both H+ and A-, we have:
![Ka=\frac{x^2}{[HA]_0-x} =10^{-4.74}=1.82x10^{-5}](https://tex.z-dn.net/?f=Ka%3D%5Cfrac%7Bx%5E2%7D%7B%5BHA%5D_0-x%7D%20%3D10%5E%7B-4.74%7D%3D1.82x10%5E%7B-5%7D)
Thus, it is possible to find x given the pH as shown below:

So that we can calculate the initial concentration of the acid:
![\frac{(1.82x10^{-5})^2}{[HA]_0-1.82x10^{-5}} =1.82x10^{-5}\\\\\frac{1.82x10^{-5}}{[HA]_0-1.82x10^{-5}} =1\\\\](https://tex.z-dn.net/?f=%5Cfrac%7B%281.82x10%5E%7B-5%7D%29%5E2%7D%7B%5BHA%5D_0-1.82x10%5E%7B-5%7D%7D%20%3D1.82x10%5E%7B-5%7D%5C%5C%5C%5C%5Cfrac%7B1.82x10%5E%7B-5%7D%7D%7B%5BHA%5D_0-1.82x10%5E%7B-5%7D%7D%20%3D1%5C%5C%5C%5C)
![[HA]_0=3.64x10^{-5}M](https://tex.z-dn.net/?f=%5BHA%5D_0%3D3.64x10%5E%7B-5%7DM)
Therefore, the percent dissociation turns out to be:
![\% diss=\frac{x}{[HA]_0}*100\% \\\\\% diss=\frac{1.82x10^{-5}M}{3.64x10^{-5}M}*100\% \\\\\% diss = 50\%](https://tex.z-dn.net/?f=%5C%25%20diss%3D%5Cfrac%7Bx%7D%7B%5BHA%5D_0%7D%2A100%5C%25%20%5C%5C%5C%5C%5C%25%20diss%3D%5Cfrac%7B1.82x10%5E%7B-5%7DM%7D%7B3.64x10%5E%7B-5%7DM%7D%2A100%5C%25%20%5C%5C%5C%5C%5C%25%20diss%20%3D%2050%5C%25)
Best regards!