Congson, Shayne Angelique B.

LABORATORY EXPERIMENT NO. 8

ADVANCED ACID-BASE

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
 Calculate the pH of weak acids and bases.
 Illustrate the reactions of weak acids and bases.
 Categorize acids and bases based on their strength.
 Prepare various types of salts through neutralization.
 Review the concept of the acid dissociation constant (Ka) and its logarithmic form
(pKa).

Some weak acids can actually be more dangerous than their stronger counterparts and
they can corrode surfaces, including bare skin. Roger Tori is a patrol in the lake for how
many years and she is bewildered by the condition of the lake. She had noticed that all of
the animals living around the lake have suddenly disappeared. Through this we are going
to analyze the connections between the measured pH and the conditions of the lake. pH
is inversely related to the concentration of hydrogen ions [H +]. When the concentration
of hydrogen ions decreases, the pH level will be higher and vice versa. It is defined as the
negative logarithm to the base of the hydrogen ion concentration pH=−log ¿ ¿. At the
temperature of 25oC, distilled or pure water has a pH of 7 due to the formation of
hydrogen and hydroxide ions are equal.
Materials:
 Gloves
 Glassware Tray
 Distilled water
 Rainwater (Control)
 Local Rainwater
 Lake water
 Beaker
 pH Meter
PROCEDURES:
1. Put the lake water into the beaker and place it to the pH meter.
2. The next one is the local lake water. Do the same procedure.
3. As a control, put the rainwater in the pH meter.

Samples pH Level
Lake Water 5
Local Rainwater 4.5
 Rainwater (Control) 5.6
Table 1. pH Level of the Water Samples
After measuring the pH level of the control rainwater, we got an average pH of 5.6. This
shows that the rain is naturally slightly acidic. The rainwater around the lake is more
acidic than normal.

The Earth’s atmosphere mainly contains Nitrogen, Oxygen, Carbon Dioxide, and Water.
Carbonic acid can be formed from these building blocks. When carbon dioxide dissolves in
rainwater it becomes carbonic acid. Even a beaker of pure water, if we exposed to the air
it will begin to absorb carbon dioxide and become acidic.

ACIDS AND BASES

 A chemical substance is an acid or base, depending on how it reacts in aqueous
solution and the ability to accept or donate a proton depends on the chemical
structure of the molecule.
 According to the Bronsted-Lowry definition, an acid (HA) is a species that donates
a proton in aqueous solution. A base (B) is a species that accepts a proton in
aqueous solution. Compare this with Arrhenius definition and Lewis definition.
 The protons (H+) donated by an acid combine with the water molecules to form
hydronium ions (H3O+). A base receives protons from water molecules. The water
molecules then become hydroxide ions (OH-).
 These two different reactions occur because water is amphoteric - it can either
donate or receive protons.
 The pH scale represents how acidic or basic a substance is.
 It is important to note that acids and bases, especially strong ones, can corrode
metals and burn human skin.

The relative strength of acids and bases is determined by how they ionize in an aqueous
solution. Carbonic Acid (H2CO3) is a weak acid because the substance only partially ionized
in water unlike the strong acid or strong bases they are completely ionize in water. Similar
to the acids, the relative strength of bases is determined by the degree of ionization. The
molecules of strong bases all receive protons and become ions. Weak bases only react
partially with water and it is represented by the base dissociation constant (K b).

Strength of Acids Acids Ka

Weakest Hydrogen Cyanide (HCN) 6.2 x 10-10
I Hydrogen Sulfide (H2S) 1.1 x 10-7
I
I
Hydrogen Sulfate ion 1 x 10-2
I (HSO4)
Strongest Hydrochloric Acid (HCl) 1.3 x 106
Table 2. Acids Strength Arrangement

ILLUSTRATION OF WEAK ACIDS AND BASES

Through the molecular animations, it shows how acids and bases get their weak and

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strong labels and learn how the acid dissociation constant is used to define the strength
of acids.

Dissociation of carbonic acid∈water =H 3 CO 3 → H +¿+HCO ¿3−¿¿

−¿ ¿

Generalized form=HA → H +¿+ A ¿ (HA= acid; A= conjugate base)

Acid and Base Dissociation Constant (Ka)(Kb)

 describes how much acids (HA) dissociates in water or how easily an acid or base
dissociates into ions, in a solution.
 Describes the ratio of dissociated to non-dissociated molecules, and it is a measure for
acid strength.
K a =¿ ¿
 For acid and conjugate base or a base and conjugate acid: (Kw= ion constant in water)
K w =K a x K b
 Ka and Kb can be converted into easier forms to work with, by finding their inverse
logs.
 pKa is the inverse log of Ka. The formula is -log[Ka]
 pKb is the inverse log of Kb. The formula is -log[Kb]
 Whether an acid is strong or weak has nothing to do with the concentration or
dilution of the solution. For example, a strong acid like sulfuric acid would not become
a weak acid just by being diluted. Although its pH would be raised, the acid would be
less concentrated, and the solution would appear less reactive, it would still be a
dilute solution of a strong acid.
Weak Acid
 It is composed of a proton, shown as small grey, and its conjugate base, shown as a
large black sphere. If mixed with water some protons [H +] are transferred from the
acid to the water creating hydronium ions [H 3O+]. The resulting conjugate base is a
weak base, it will accept some protons. Some of the protons move back from the
hydronium ions to the conjugate base. That’s why there is a low final concentration of
hydronium ions in the solution, making it a weak acid and it is presented by the Ka
(acid dissociation constant).
 The pH of concentrated weak acid is around 4, whereas the same amount of a strong
acid can result in a pH around 1.
 Donates about 1000 times (1000x) fewer [H+] to the surrounding water molecules.
−¿¿

Strong Acid =HA → H +¿+ A ¿ −¿¿

Weak Acid =HA ↔ H +¿+ A ¿

Weak Base
 It is presented as a large green sphere. If mixed with water, some protons are
transferred to the base creating hydroxide ions [OH] and the conjugate acid. The
resulting conjugate acid is a weak acid that wants to donate some protons. Therefore,
the weak base only partially dissociates in water.
 Whether a base is strong or weak has nothing to do with the concentration or dilution
of the solution. −¿¿

Strong Base=B(OH )→ B+¿+OH ¿

−¿¿

Weak Acid =B+ H 2 O ↔ B+¿+OH ¿

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 Burning Coal
 Produces carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide.
 These molecules react with water to form sulfuric acid (H 2SO4) and nitric acid (HNO 3)
which are two strong acids.

MIXING ACIDS AND BASES

Due to the application the concept of neutralization, you can create different types of
salt. This will come in handy for solving real-life issues, such as environmental hazards. If
equal volume of a strong base and a weaker acid are mixed together the pH will be higher
than 7 because there will be fewer hydrogen ion or hydroxide ion.

A salt solution can either be basic, acidic, or neutral. Strong acid and strong base produce
water and neutral salt while weak acid and weak base produce water and base salt.
BASE SOLUTION pH ACID SOLUTION pH SALT
NH3 (Ammonia) 10 H2SO4 (Sulfuric Acid) 2 Ammonium Sulfate
NH3 (Ammonia) 10 HCl (Hydrochloric Acid) 1 Ammonium Chloride
(Acidic Chloride Salt)
Ca(OH)2 (Calcium Hydroxide) 12 H2SO4 (Sulfuric Acid) 2 Calcium Chloride
(Neutral Salt)
Ca(OH)2 (Calcium Hydroxide) 12 H2CO3 (Carbonic Acid) 4 Calcium Carbonate
Table 3. Salt Utilization from Acid and Base Solution

NEUTRALIZATION
o It happens when an acid reacts with a base causing it to produce salt and water.
o The neuralization reaction will continue until all available free hydrogen ion or
hydroxide ion has been used.
o The pH of the salt depends on whether there is a leftover of hydrogen ion or
hydroxide ion.

The lake water especially the rainwater is highly acidic due to the pollution in the air
wherein it affects the rainwater. An air pollution can be spread widely, or it can travel
hundreds of miles that’s why the power plant has been affecting the lake. The soil lost its
nutrients which would help to neutralize the acid from the rain. A short- term solution
like liming the lake or adding base to the lake usually calcium carbonate, but in long-term,
the polluting emissions from the coal power plant need to be reduced.
.