DESCRIBING ACIDS

AND BASES
Classifying Acids
and Bases
ACIDS
▹ Turn blue litmus paper red.
▹ If blue litmus paper turns
red when it is dipped into a
solution, then the solution is
an acid.
ACIDS
▹ Taste sour.
▹ Ability to cause burns
to skin.
▹ Most acids have
formulas that start
with H.
ACIDS
▹ React with many metals to produce
hydrogen gas.
▹ Examples:
▸ Zn(s) + 2 HCl(aq) → ZnCl2(aq) + H2(g)
▸ Mg(s) + 2 HCl(aq) → MgCl2(aq) + H2(g)
EXAMPLES
▹ Acetylsalicylic acid
(Aspirin)
▹ Ascorbic acid (Vitamin C)
▹ Acetic acid (Vinegar)
EXAMPLES
▹ Hydrochloric acid (Stomach
Acid)
▹ Phosphoric acid (Dark soda
pop)
▹ Sulfuric acid (Car batteries)
▹ Formic acid (Causes the sting
in ant bites)
BASES
▹ Taste bitter.
▹ Slippery feel

▹ Turn red litmus

paper blue.
BASES
▹ Most of the bases have formulas that end
with –OH.
▹ These bases contain the polyatomic ion
called hydroxide.
▹ When bases dissolve in water, they produce
hydroxide (OH-) ions.
EXAMPLES
▹ Milk of magnesia
(Acid indigestion)
▹ Oven cleaner
▹ Soaps and many
cleaning other
products.
SVANTE ARRHENIUS
▹ Set the groundwork for our
current understanding of acid-
base theory.
▹ Led the way to our
understanding of how acids
and bases differed, their
properties, and their
reactions.
ARRHENIUS ACIDS

▹ One of the distinguishable features

about acids is the fact that acids
produce H+ ions in solution.
ARRHENIUS ACIDS
▹ Hydrochloric acid: HCl(aq) → H+(aq) + Cl-(aq)
▹ Nitric acid: HNO3(aq) → H+(aq) + NO3 -(aq)
▹ Perchloric acid: HClO4(aq) → H+(aq) + ClO4 -(aq)
ARRHENIUS BASES

▹ A substance that releases OH-

ions in solution. Many bases are
ionic substances made up of a
cation and the anion hydroxide,
OH-.
ARRHENIUS BASES
▹ Sodium hydroxide: NaOH(s) → Na+(aq) + OH-(aq)
▹ Barium hydroxide: Ba(OH)2(s) → 2Ba+(aq) + 2 OH-(aq)
pH
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN [H+] AND [OH-]

▹ Acids and bases are related to

hydrogen ions [H+] and hydroxide
ions [OH-].
▹ Both of these ions are present in
both acids and bases.
EXAMPLE
1. H2O(l) H+(aq) + OH-(aq)
▹ Kw=[H+][OH-]
▸ Kw = equilibrium constant
▸ [H+] = 1 x 10 -7
▸ [OH-] = 1 x 10 -7
▸ Kw = 1 x 10 -14
TAKE NOTE
▹ If [H+] = [OH-], the solution is neutral (such as in
pure water)
▹ If [H+] > [OH-], the solution is acidic.
▹ If [H+] < [OH-], the solution is basic.
EXAMPLE
2. Suppose acid is added to some
water, and [H+] is measured to be
1 x 10 -4 M. What is would [OH-]
be?
SOLUTION
▹ Kw = 1 x 10 -14 = [H+] [OH-]
▹ 1 x 10 -14 = 1 x 10 -4 [OH-]

▹ [OH-] = 1 x 10 -10 M

▹ Note that because [H+] > [OH-], the

solution must be acidic.
EXAMPLE
3. If the hydrogen ion concentration
is 1 x 10 -12 M, we can calculate the
final hydroxide ion concentration.
EXAMPLE
▹ Kw = 1 x 10 -14 = [H+] [OH-]
▹ 1 x 10 -14 = 1 x 10 -12 [OH-]

▹ [OH-] = 1 x 10 -2 M

▹ Note that because [H+] < [OH-], the

solution must be basic.
EXAMPLE
4. What would be the [H+] for the
grapefruit found to have a [OH-] of
1.26 x 10 -11 ? What is [H+] and is the
solution acidic, basic or neutral?
EXAMPLE
▹ Kw = 1 x 10 -14 = [H+] [OH-]
▹ 1 x 10 -14 = [H+]1.26 x 10 -11

▹ [H+] = 7.94 x 10 -4 M

▹ The solution must be acidic

because [H+] > [OH-]
pH scale
SOREN SORENSEN
▹ He developed a shorter method
for expressing acid strength or
hydrogen ion concentration with
a non-exponential number.
▹ He named his method pH. The p
from pH comes from the German
word potenz meaning “power or
the exponent of”.
SOREN SORENSEN
▹ His idea that the pH would be a simpler number to
deal with in terms of discussing acidity level led
him to a formula that relates pH and [H+]:
pH = - log [H+]
▹ If the hydrogen ion concentration is between 1.0
M and 1.0x10-14, the value of the pH will be
between 0 and 14.
EXAMPLE

1. Calculate the pH of solution that

[H+] = 0.01M.

pH = - log (0.01)
pH = 2
EXAMPLE

2. Calculate the pH of saliva with

[H+] = 1.58 x 10 -6 M.

pH = - log (1.58 x 10 -6)

pH = 5.801342913 or 5.8
EXAMPLE

3. Calculate the pH of solution with

[OH-] = 7.2 x 10 -4 M.
Kw = 1 x 10 -14 = [H+] [OH-]
1 x 10 -14 = [H+]7.2 x 10 -4
[H+] = 1.39 x 10 -11 M
EXAMPLE

3. Calculate the pH of solution with

[OH-] = 7.2 x 10 -4 M.

pH = - log (1.39 x 10 -11 )

pH = 10.8569852 or 10.9
pH Scale
▹ Developed by Sorensen is a logarithmic
scale, which means that a difference of 1in
pH units indicates a difference of a factor of
10 in the hydrogen ion concentrations.
▹ A difference of 2 in pH units indicates a
difference of a factor of 100 in the hydrogen
ion concentrations.
Neutralization
NEUTRALIZATION
▹ A reaction between an acid and a base
that produces water and a salt.

acid + base salt + water

NEUTRALIZATION REACTIONS
▹ All acid-base reactions produce
salts.
▹ The anion from the acid will
combine with the cation from the
base to form the ionic salt.
EXAMPLES

▹ HClO4 + NaOH → NaClO4 + HOH

▹ H2SO4 + 2 KOH → K2SO4 + 2 HOH
ACTIVITY #8

▹ Read about Bronsted-Lowry

Acid-Base Theory