Properties of Acids & Bases Student Notes

I. Acids
A. An _______________________ is a substance that produces hydrogen ions in a water
solution.
B. When an acid dissolved in water, H+ ions interact with water molecules to form H3O+ ions,
which are called hydronium ions.
C. Properties of Acids
i. Taste sour
ii. Corrode metals
iii. Electrolytes
iv. React with bases to form a salt and water
v. pH is less than 7
vi. Turns BLUE litmus paper to RED “Blue to Red A-CID”

II. Bases
A. When a __________________________ dissolves in water, some of the hydroxide ions (OH–)
are released.
B. Properties of Bases
i. Produce OH– ions in water (hydroxide ions)
ii. Taste bitter, chalky
iii. Are electrolytes
iv. Feel soapy, slippery
v. React with acids to form salts and water
vi. pH greater than 7
vii. Turns red litmus paper to blue “Basic Blue”

III. Arrhenius Acids & Bases

A. Arrhenius Acids form ___________________________________________ ions (H3O+).
i. Example: HCl + H2O  H3O+ + Cl–

B. Arrhenius Bases form hydroxide ions (OH-).

i. Example: NaOH + H2O  Na+ + OH–

IV. Brønsted-Lowry Acids & Bases

A. Brønsted-Lowry Acids are proton/H+ donors (lose H +).

B. Brønsted-Lowry Bases are proton/H+ ________________________________ (gain H +).

C. Example: HCl + H2O  Cl + H3O
– +

acid Conjugate Conjugate

base acid
Base
V. Neutralization Reactions
A. Neutralization occurs when an acid & a base react.

B. The products of a neutralization reaction are ______________________________ &

___________________________.
 VI. Water
A. Water can function as an acid or a base. H20 ↔ H+ + OH–

B. Water is _______________________________.
C. Aqueous Solutions
i. In any aqueous solution [H+] and [OH-] are interdependent so when [H+] increase [OH-]
decreases and vice versa.

VII. Acid and Base Solutions

A. A neutral solution is any solution where the [H+] is ___________________________ to the
[OH-].
B. An acidic solution is any solution where the _________________ is greater than the [OH-].

C. A basic solution, also called an alkaline, is where the ___________________ is greater than
the [H+].

VIII. Acid/Base Strength

A. Strong Acids/Bases ─ 100% ionized in water, ________________________ electrolytes
i. Examples of Strong Acids:
1. HCl 3. H2SO4 5. HI
2. HNO3 4. HBr 6. HClO4
ii. Examples of Strong Bases
1. NaOH 3. Ca(OH)2
2. KOH 4. Ba(OH)2
B. Weak Acids/Bases ─ does not ionize completely, __________________________ electrolytes
i. Examples of Weak Acids
1. HF 4. H2CO3
2. CH3COOH 5. HCN
3. H3PO4
ii. Examples of Weak Bases
1. NH3 2. Cu(OH)2 3. Fe(OH)3

IX. Indicators
A. Litmus – Acids turn litmus red. Bases turn litmus blue.
B. pH Meter/Paper: A device or paper used to measure the exact pH of a solution.

C. ____________________________________________________ –
i. Colorless in an acid.
ii. Very faint pink in a neutral solution.
iii. Very Bright pink in a base.

X. pH Scale
A. The _________________________________________ tells us the strength of acids and
bases.
B. Instead of dealing with very small numbers, we just use the negative power of 10 on the
Molarity (M) of the H+ (or OH–) ion.
C. pH Scale Readings:
i. pH Under 7 = ACID
ii. pH at 7 = NEUTRAL
iii. pH Over 7 = BASE