Acid,Base

and Salt
Concept Map
 Overview
1. Properties of Acids and Bases
2. Arrhenius Theory of Acids and Bases
3. Brønsted-Lowry Theory of Acids and Bases
4. Lewis Theory of Acids and Bases
5. Dissociation of Water
6. pH Concept
7. Acid-base indicators
8. Strength of Acids and Bases
9. Acid-base Reaction
10. Acid-base Titration
 Properties of Acids

1. Some taste sour , like vinegar, citric acid

(don’t try this at home).
2. In aqueous solution, they can conduct
electricity.
*Can be strong or weak electrolytes in
aqueous solution
 Properties of Acids (cont’d)

3. Acids Affect Indicators, by changing their color

Blue litmus paper turns red in contact

with an acid (and red paper stays red).
Acids
have a
pH less
than 7
 Properties of Acids (cont’d)

4. Acids React with Active Metals

Acids react with active metals to
form salts and hydrogen gas,
HCl (aq) + Mg (s) → MgCl2 (aq) + H2 (g)

Except Pt, Au:

HCl (aq) + Au (s) →
 Properties of Acids (cont’d)

5. Acids react with bases to form salts and water

For example:

HCl (aq) + NaOH (aq) → NaCl (aq) + H2O (l)

- Neutralization reactions ALWAYS produce a

salt (which is an ionic compound) and
water.
 Sulfuric Acid = H2SO4
• Used in the production of
paper
• Used in production of
fertilizers
• Used in petroleum
refining; auto batteries
Nitric Acid = HNO3
• Used in the production
of fertilizers
• Used in the production
of explosives
• Nitric acid is a volatile
acid – its reactive
components evaporate
easily
• Stains proteins yellow
(including skin!)
 Hydrochloric Acid = HCl

• Used in the “pickling” of

steel
• Used to purify
magnesium from sea
water
• Part of gastric juice, it
aids in the digestion of
proteins
• Sold commercially as
Muriatic acid
Phosphoric Acid = H3PO4

• A flavoring agent in
sodas (adds “tart”)
• Used in the
manufacture of
detergents
• Used in the
manufacture of
fertilizers
• Not a common
laboratory reagent
 Acetic Acid = HC2H3O2 or CH3COOH
(also called Ethanoic Acid, CH3COOH)

• Used in the manufacture

of plastics
• Used in making
pharmaceuticals
• Acetic acid is the acid
that is present in
household vinegar
 Properties of Bases
1. React with acids to form water and salts.
2. Taste bitter.
3. Feel slippery (don’t try this either).
4. Can be strong or weak electrolytes in
aqueous solution.
5. Change the color of indicators (red
litmus turns blue).
 Bases Affect Indicators

Red litmus paper turns

blue in contact with a base
(and blue paper stays
blue).
Bases
have a pH
greater
than 7
 Bases Reacts with
Acids

Milk of Magnesia contains

magnesium hydroxide,
Mg(OH)2, which neutralizes
stomach acid, HCl.
2 HCl + Mg(OH)2 → MgCl2 + 2 H2O

Magnesium salts can cause

diarrhea (thus they are used
as a laxative) and may also
cause kidney stones.
 Examples of Bases

• Sodium hydroxide, NaOH

(lye for drain cleaner; soap)
• Potassium hydroxide, KOH
(alkaline batteries)
• Magnesium hydroxide,
Mg(OH)2 (Milk of Magnesia)
• Calcium hydroxide, Ca(OH)2
(lime; masonry)
Acid-Base
Theories
1. Arrhenius (1887)

• Acids produce hydrogen ions (H+)

in aqueous solution
Example:
HCl (aq) → H+ (aq) + Cl- (aq)
• Bases produce hydroxide ions
(OH-) when dissolved in aqueous
solution
Example:
NaOH (aq) → Na+ (aq) + OH- (aq)
• This concept valid if use water as
solvent.
 Polyprotic Acids

• Some compounds have more than one ionizable

hydrogen to release
• HNO3 nitric acid >> monoprotic
• H2SO4 sulfuric acid >> diprotic, 2H+
• H3PO4 phosphoric acid >> triprotic, 3 H+
• Having more than one ionizable hydrogen
DOES NOT mean it become stronger acid!
2. Brønsted-Lowry (1923)
• An acid is hydrogen-ion donor (H+ ) while a
base is hydrogen-ion acceptor.

For example:
HCl (aq) + H2O (l) H3O+ (aq) + Cl- (aq)
acid base conjugate acid conjugate base

NH3 (aq) + H2O (l) NH4+ (aq) + OH- (aq)

base acid conjugate acid conjugate base

Note:
• This is a conjugate pair of acid and base.
• Acids and bases always come in pairs.
• Water is amphoter.
 Why Ammonia is a Base

• Ammonia can be explained as a base by

using Brønsted-Lowry:
NH3 (aq) + H2O (l) NH4+ (aq) + OH- (aq)
• Ammonia is the hydrogen ion acceptor
(base), and water is the hydrogen ion donor
(acid).
• This causes the OH- concentration to be
greater than in pure water, and the ammonia
solution is basic.
3. Lewis
• Acid is electron pair acceptor
while base is electron pair donor.
For example:

BF3 (g) + NH3 (g) → BF3 NH3

SO3 (g) + MgO(s) → MgSO4 (s)

 Dissociation of Water
• Water ionizes, or falls apart into ions:
2H2O (l) H+ (aq) + OH- (aq)

• Called the autoionization of water.

• Occurs to a very small extent:
[H+ ] = [OH-] = 1 x 10-7 M at 298 K
• Since they are equal, a neutral solution results from water
Kw = [H+ ] x [OH-] = 1 x 10-14 M2
where Kw is called the ion product constant for water
 The pH concept
• pH = pouvoir hydrogene (France)
“hydrogen power”
• Definition:
pH = -log [H+]

• In neutral solution pH = 7
• In acidic solution pH < 7
• In basic solution pH > 7
Calculating pOH

pOH = -log [OH-]

Acidity and Basidity
Some common acid–base indicators
and their color changes
 Color changes indicate the pH

Indicators (abbreviated HIn) exhibit pH

dependent color changes because they are
weak acids and have different colors in their
acid (HIn) and conjugate base (In-) forms:

HIn (aq) + H2O (l) → H3O+ (aq) + In- (aq)

color A color B
 Measuring pH

• A pH meter may give

more definitive results
– works by measuring
the voltage between
two electrodes;
typically accurate to
within 0.01 pH unit of
the true pH
 The Strength of Acid and Base

• Strong acids or strong bases are completely

ionized in aqueous solution; this means
they ionize 100 %
• Weak acids or weak bases are ionize only
slightly in aqueous solution
• Strength is very different from concentration
Strong Acid Dissociation
Weak Acid Dissociation
Strong
Acid

Weak
Acid
 Ionization Equation of Strong and Weak Acids

The words strong and weak refer to the extent of ionization

of an acid.
Ionization Constant for Some Weak Acids
Ionization Constant for Some Weak Bases
 Measuring strength of acid
• Ionization is reversible:
HA + H2O H+ + A -
• Acid dissociation constant = Ka

Ka = [H+ ][A- ] (Note that water is NOT shown, because

its concentration is constant, and built
into Ka)
[HA]
• Stronger acid = more products (ions),
thus a larger Ka
 Measuring strength of base

MOH + H2O M+ + OH- (M = a metal)

• Base dissociation constant = Kb
Kb = [M+ ][OH-]
[MOH]
• Stronger base = more dissociated
ions are produced, thus a larger
Kb.
 Acid-Base Reactions
Acid + Base Water + Salt
Neutralization Reaction is a reaction in which
an acid and a base react in an aqueous
solution to produce a salt and water.

For example:
HCl (aq) + NaOH (aq) → NaCl (aq) + H2O(l)
H2SO4 (aq) + 2 KOH (aq) → K2SO4 (aq) + 2 H2O (l)
 Titration of acid-base
• Titration is a method for determining the concentration of a
solution by reacting a known volume of that solution with a
solution of known concentration.

• The equivalence point is when the moles of hydrogen ions

is equal to the moles of hydroxide ions
Comparison of the titration curves for
The (a) weak acid–strong base titration and the
(b) strong acid–strong base

strong acid–strong base weak acid–strong base

 Nomenclature of Acids
1. Name hydrogen followed by the cation-like element with
takes an -ide ending.
Example: HF = Hydrogen fluoride
HCl = Hydrogen chloride

* Note that the naming above is for pure acid.

The prefix hydro- and the suffix -ic acid are used for the
aqueous solution, for example:
Hydrogen chloride HCl (g) HCl (aq) Hydrochloric acid

Hydrogen chloride HBr (g) HBr (aq) Hydrobromic acid

 Nomenclature of Acids

For naming the oxoacids, the -ite or -ate ending of

the anion name replaced by –ous acid or -ic acid.
 Back
Nomenclature of Bases
Name the cation (metal) followed by the anion (hydroxide)
No Base Name
1 NaOH Sodium hydroxide
2 KOH Pottasium hydroxide
3 Mg(OH)2 Magnesium hydroxide
4 Ba(OH)2 Barium hydroxide
5 Al2(OH)3 Aluminum hydroxide
6 Cu(OH)2 Copper hydroxide
7 NH3 Ammonia

Note that we named ‘ammonia’ after the reaction:

NH3 (g) + H2O (l) NH4+ (aq) + OH- (aq)
there is no evidence for the undissociated species NH4OH, so we
named ‘ammonia’ rather than ammonium hydroxide.