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 Æ H3O+ + Cl-
HCl acts as acid; H2O acts as base

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

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

Conjugate acid: Species formed after base accepts a proton Example: HS- + H2O Æ 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 Æ 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 Æ H3O+ + ClO4 (base)

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

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

Strong acids/bases: dissociate completely when dissolved in

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

Weak acids/bases: dissociate only partially when dissolved in

solution Weak Base: NH3 + H+ Æ NH4+

1
 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 Æ 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

2
 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

3
 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+ Æ H2CO3 laboratory (NaOH)
procedure used to
If acids (H+) are added, react with HCO3- determine the
molarity of an acid.
H2CO3 + OH- Æ 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 Æ H2O + CO2 solution
of an acid.

4
 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.