Acids and Bases

Acids and alkalis

A closer look at acids
and alkalis

IGCSE

Acids and Bases

Acids
Acids
Produce H+ ions in water.
H2O

HCl(g) H+(aq) + Cl- (aq)

Are electrolytes.
Have a sour taste.
Turn litmus paper red.
Neutralize bases.

Common Acids

Bases
Bases
Produce OH ions in water
.
(H2O)
NaOH (s) OH- (aq) + Na+(aq)
Taste bitter or chalky.
Are electrolytes.
Feel soapy and slippery.
Neutralize acids.

Some Common Bases

Bases with OH- ions are named as the hydroxide of the
metal in the formula.
NaOH

sodium hydroxide

KOH

potassium hydroxide

Ba(OH)2 barium hydroxide

Al(OH)3

aluminum hydroxide

Fe(OH)3 iron (III) hydroxide

NH3, A special case

In the reaction of ammonia and water,
NH3 is the base that accept H+.
H2O is the acid that donates H+.

Comparing Acids and Bases

Learning Check
Identify each as a characteristic of an
A) acid
or
B) base
____1.
Has a sour taste.
A
B
____2.
Produces OH- in aqueous solutions.
B
____3.
Has a chalky taste.
A,B
____4.
Is an electrolyte.
A
____5.
Produces H+ in aqueous solutions.

Acid-Base Indicators
Indicators are used to determine whether a
substance is acidic, basic or neither (neutral).
These are called indicators because they
change colors to indicate acid or alkaline
conditions.
Many substances are neutral being neither
acids nor alkalis.
i.e. water, sugar water, aqueous sodium chloride

Acid-Base Indicators
This table illustrates how indicators can be
seen to change color with acids and
Indicator
alkalis
Color in acid Color in alkali
Litmus
Phenolphthalein
Methyl orange

Red

Blue

Colorless

Pink

Red

yellow

pH Scale
The pH scale:
Is used to indicate the
acidity of a solution.
Has values that usually
range from 0 to 14.
Is neutral with a pH of 7.

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pH Scale
The pH scale:
Is used to indicate the
acidity of a solution.
Is acidic when the values
are less than 7.
Is basic when the values
are greater than 7.

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pH of Everyday Substances

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Learning Check
Identify each solution as
1. acidic
2. basic

3. neutral

HCl with a pH = 1.5 acidic

Pancreatic fluid with a pH = 8.1 basic
Sprite soft drink pH = 3.0 acidic
pH = 7.0 neutral

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Testing the pH of Solutions

The pH of solutions can be determined using
pH meter,
pH paper, or
indicators that have specific colors at different
pH values.

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Strengths of Acids
A strong acid completely ionizes (100%) in
aqueous solutions.
HCl(g) + H2O(l)
H3O+ (aq) + Cl- (aq)
A weak acid dissociates only slightly in water
to form a few ions in aqueous solutions.
H2CO3(aq) + H2O(l)
(aq)

H3O+(aq) + HCO3

Strong and Weak Acids

In an HCl solution, the
strong acid HCl
dissociates 100%.
A solution of (acetic
acid) the weak acid
CH3COOH contains
mostly molecules and a
few ions.

Strong Acids
Strong acids
Are few in number compared to weak acids.

Weak Acids

Weak acids
Are typical of most acids.

Strong Bases
Strong bases
Form with metals of Groups 1
and 2:
Include LiOH, NaOH, KOH,
and Ca(OH)2
Dissociate completely in water.
KOH(s)
K+(aq) + OH(aq)

Weak Bases
Weak bases
Are most of the bases.
Dissociate only slightly in
water.
Form only a few ions in water.

NH3(g) + H2O(l)

NH4+(aq) + OH(aq)

Learning Check
Identify each of the following as a strong or weak
acid or base.
A. HBr
strong acid
B. HNO2

weak acid

C. NaOH

strong base

D. H2SO4

strong acid

E. Cu(OH)2

weak base

Reactions with metals

Acids react with metals
Such as K, Na, Ca, Mg, Al, Zn, Fe, and Sn .
To produce hydrogen gas and the salt of the metal.
A type of redox reaction.
Molecular equation:
Zn(s) + 2HCl(aq) ZnCl2(aq) + H2(g)
Ionic equation:
Zn(s) + 2H+(aq) + 2Cl-(aq) Zn2+ (aq) + 2Cl-(aq) + H2(g)
Net ionic equation:
Zn(s) + 2H+(aq) Zn2+ (aq) + H2(g)

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Reactions with bases

Bases are a group of compounds that
react with acids to neutralize them, giving
a salt and water.
Bases include alkalis, and insoluble metal
oxides, hydroxides and carbonates.

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Reactions of acids and bases

1. Acids with alkalis (soluble bases)
A neutralization reaction occurs when
An acid such as HCl and a base such as NaOH react.
HCl + H2O H3O+ + Cl
NaOH
Na+
+ OH
The H3O+ from the acid and the OH from the base form
water.
H3O+ + OH
2 H 2O

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Reactions of acids and bases

In the equation for neutralization, an acid and a
base produce a salt and water.
acid
base
salt
water
HCl(aq) + NaOH(aq) NaCl(aq) + H2O(l)
2HCl(aq) + Ca(OH)2(aq) CaCl2(aq) + 2H2O(l)

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Reactions with metal oxides

2. Acid reactions with metal oxides
The oxides and hydroxides of many metals are
insoluble in water.
If you add the solid to dilute acid, it will neutralize
the acid.
i.e. copper oxide reacts with sulfuric acid:

CuO(s) + H2SO4(aq) CuSO4 (aq) + H2O(l)

metal oxide

acid

salt

water
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Reactions with carbonates

3. Acid reactions with carbonates
Acids react with carbonates and hydrogen
carbonates to produce carbon dioxide gas, a salt,
and water.
2HCl(aq) + CaCO3(s) CO2(g) + CaCl2(aq) + H2O(l)
HCl(aq) + NaHCO3(s) CO2(g) + NaCl(aq) + H2O(l)

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A Summary of Acid Reactions

Acid + metal metal salt +
hydrogen
Acid + metal oxide or hydroxide
metal salt + water
Acid + metal carbonate
metal salt + water + carbon dioxide