Acid-Base Chemistry Bronsted Acid: Substance that donates proton to another substance

Arrhenius acid: Substance that dissolves in water and
provides H+ ions
Arrhenius base: Substance that dissolves in water and
provides OH- ions
Bronsted base: Substance that accepts proton from another substance
Example: HCl + H2O H3O+ + Cl-
HCl acts as acid; H2O acts as base

Examples: HCl H+ and Cl- Acid In the Reverse Reaction,

H3O+ acts as an acid; Cl- acts as a base
NaOH Na+ + OH- Base
Note: (H3O+ = hydronium ion = H+ = proton)

Conjugate acid: Species formed after base accepts a proton Example: HS- + H2O H3O+ + S2-

Conjugate base: Species remaining after an acid donates its proton

Conjugate pairs: HS- and S2-

Conjugate acid-base pair: an acid and base on opposite sides of the H2O and H3O+
equation that correspond to each other
Practice: HClO4 + H2O H3O+ + ClO4-
Examples: HNO3 + H2O H3O+ + NO3-
acid base acid base What are the conjugate pairs?

Conjugate pairs: HNO3 and NO3- HClO4 and ClO4-

H2O and H3O+ H2O and H3O+

Water can act as both an acid and a base (amphiprotic)! Examples:

HClO4 + H2O H3O+ + ClO4 (base)

Strong Acid: HCl H+ + Cl- (100% dissociation)
NH3 + H2O OH- + NH4+ (acid)

Strengths of Acids and Bases Strong Base: NaOH Na+ + OH (100% dissociation)

Strong acids/bases: dissociate completely when dissolved in

Weak Acid: CH3COOH H+ + CH3COO- (1.3% dissociation)
solution

Weak acids/bases: dissociate only partially when dissolved in

solution Weak Base: NH3 + H+ NH4+

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 Conjugate base

Naming Acids
Binary Acids: hydo + root of anion + ic + acid
ex. HCl hydrochloric acid, HBr hydrobromic acid
HI Hydroiodic acid
Polyatomic-based Acids: root of polyatomic ion + ic +
acid
ex. H2SO4 sulfuric acid, H3PO4 phosphoric acid
H2CO3 carbonic acid
HNO3 nitric acid

The Self-Ionization of Water

The pH Scale
H2O + H2O H3O+ + OH-
pH is a measure of acidity
Pure water: [H3O+]=[OH- = 10-7 M (at 250C)
Scale ranges from 0-14
Neutral Solution: Any solution in which the concentrations of H3O+
and OH- ions are equal (10-7 M) pH = 7 Neutral
pH < 7 Acidic
Acidic Solution: Solutions having a greater concentration of H3O+
than OH- ions ([H3O+] greater than 10-7 M) pH > 7 Basic

Example: A solution with [H3O+] = 10-5 M pH represents the concentration of H+ ions in solution

Basic Solution: solution having a greater concentration of OH- than Pure water: 1 x 10-7 moles H+ per liter and1 x 10-7 moles OH- per liter
H3O+ions ([H3O+] less than 10-7 M)

Example: A solution with [H3O+] = 10-12 M

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 Solutions with equal concentrations of and ions are called Neutral pH Scale Summary

pH scale refers to amount of H+ ions in solution

Solutions with more than 1 x 10-7 moles H+ per liter are Acidic
pH 7 is neutral, less than 7 is acidic, greater than 7 is basic
Solutions with less than 1 x 10-7 moles H+ per liter are Basic
Lower pH = more acidic = more H+ ions

Note: [H+] x [OH-] = 10-14 (always!)

Higher pH = more basic = less H+ ions

pH = -log [H3O+]
Each pH unit represents a 10-fold change in H+ ion concentration!
Any number can be expressed as 10 raised to some exponent: y = 10x
pH 4 has 10 times more H+ ions than pH 5
Examples: 100 = 10 2
pH 9 has 10 times fewer H+ ions than pH 8
1000 = 103
Mathematical equation for pH: 0.10 = 10 -1

pH is the negative log of the H3O+ concentration The log is that exponent!

pH = -log [H3O+] 100 = 10 2; Log of 100 =2

1000 = 103; Log of 1000 = 3
0.10 = 10 1; Log of 0.10 = -1

Calculating pH from [H3O+]

We can also take the log of non-whole numbers, but we use our
calculators for this. pH = -log [H3O+]

Example: Find the log of 2.4 x 10-3 Enter [H3O+] into calculator

Enter 2.4 x 10-3into calculator Press the log key

Press the log key Change the sign

0.0024 log = -2.62 Example: [H3O+] = 1.0 x 10-7 M

Therefore, 10-2.62 = 2.4 x 10-3 pH = -log [H3O+]

pH = -log [1 x 10-7] = 7

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 Example: [H3O+] = 1 x 10-11M Example: [H3O+] = 4.2 x 10-5

pH = -log [H3O+] pH = -log [H3O+]

pH = -log [1 x 10-11] = 11 Enter [H3O+] into calculator (4.2 x 10-5)

Press the log key (-4.3767507)

Example: [H3O+] = 1 x 10-3 M
Change the sign (4.3767507)
pH = -log [H3O+]
pH = 4.3767507 = 4.4
pH = -log [1 x 10-3] = 3

Example: [H3O+] = 8.1 x 10-9

pH = -log [H3O+]
Enter [H3O+] into calculator (8.1 x 10-9)
Press the log key (-8.091515)
Change the sign (8.091515)
pH = 8.091515 = 8.1
Reactions Between Acids and Bases
Neutralization: reaction between an acid and a base; always
produces salt and water
Titration: Process by which acid or base of known
concentration is used to neutralize a solution of unknown
concentration, to determine its concentration
Buffer: Solution that resists changing pH when acids or
bases are added; solution that maintains constant pH

Buffers contain 2 compounds:

Acid-Base Titration
Compound with the ability to react with H+ ions
Compound with the ability to react with OH- ions
Titration is a Base
Example: HCO3- + H+ H2CO3 laboratory (NaOH)
procedure used to
If acids (H+) are added, react with HCO3- determine the
molarity of an acid.
H2CO3 + OH- HCO3- + H2O In a titration, a
base such as
If OH- ions are added, react with H2CO3 NaOH is added to
a specific volume Acid
H2CO3 is unstable: H2CO3 H2O + CO2 solution
of an acid.

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 Indicator End Point of Titration

A few drops of an At the end point, the

indicator is added indicator has a
to the acid in the permanent color.
flask. The volume of the base
The indicator used to reach the end
changes color point is measured.
when the base The molarity of the acid
(NaOH) has is calculated using the
neutralization equation
neutralized the
for the reaction.
acid.