Acids, Bases, Salts

Properties of acids in terms of their reactions with:

(a) metals : Acid + Metal —> Salt + Hydrogen

Example - HCl + Na —> NaCl + H2

(b) bases : Acid + Base —> Salt + Water

Example - H2SO4 + KOH —> K2SO4 + H2O

(c) carbonates : Acid + Metal carbonate —> Salt + Water + Carbon dioxide

Example - HCl + MgCO3 —> MgCl2 + H2O + CO2

Effect of acids and alkalis on:
(a) litmus
(b) thymolphthalein
(c) methyl orange

Indicator Acid Base

Red litmus Colourless Blue

Blue litmus Red Colourless

Thymolphthalein Colourless Blue

Methyl orange Red / pink Yellow

What are bases ?

● They are oxides or hydroxides of metals.

● Alkalis are soluble bases. Pure alkalis are solids but in the lab
they are used in aqueous solutions.

Examples of some common alkalis :

NaOH - Sodium hydroxide
KOH - Potassium hydroxide
Ca(OH)2 - Calcium hydroxide
The properties of bases in terms of their reactions with:

(a) Acids - It is a neutralisation reaction between an acid and an

alkali to produce salt and water.

(b) Ammonium salts - Bases such as sodium, potassium and calcium

hydroxides react with ammonium salts, to form ammonia gas.
Acids & Bases in terms of proton :
● Acids are proton donors
● Bases are proton acceptors

Aqueous solutions of acids contain H+ ions and aqueous solutions of alkalis

contain OH- ions. During the neutralisation reaction, H+ ions combine with OH-
ions to form water molecules. But an H+ ion is just a proton as shown in the
diagram below. So, actually, the acid donates (gives) protons to the hydroxide
ions. The hydroxide ions accept these protons, to form water molecules.
How to write an ionic equation?
How to write an ionic equation:

i) Write the symbol equations.

ii) Balance the equation.
iii) Write down all the ions present in the full equation.
iv) Cross out the ions that are same on both sides of the equation.
v) What is left is the net ionic equation.

Solve the following questions:

1. Write the net ionic equation for the reaction between calcium oxide and hydrochloric acid.

2. Hydrochloric acid is neutralised by a solution of sodium carbonate. Write the ionic equation.
How do we know which salts are soluble / insoluble in water?

Remember the following Solubility Table

 Strong Acids & Weak Acids

● A strong acid is an acid that completely dissociates in aqueous

solution.
● A weak acid is an acid that partially dissociates in aqueous solution.

Example - Hydrochloric acid is a strong acid. Ethanoic acid is a weak acid.

 Strong Alkalis and Weak Alkalis
● Strong alkalis exist completely as ions in water.
For example - In sodium hydroxide solution, all the sodium hydroxide exists
as ions:

● Ammonia solution is a weak alkali, because only some ammonia molecules form ions.
● Only some of the ammonia molecules form ions. So there are fewer
hydroxide ions present than in a sodium hydroxide solution of the
same concentration.

● The sodium hydroxide solution is a better conductor than the

ammonia solution because it contains more ions. It has a higher pH
because it contains more hydroxide ions.

● The higher the concentration of hydroxide ions, the higher the pH.

Do you know?
Alkalis react with grease. So the strong alkali such as sodium hydroxide is
used to clear blocked sinks and pipes in homes.
Types of Oxides :

Acidic oxides :
When non-metals react with oxygen they produce non-metal oxides which are
called acidic oxides.

CO2 is a non-metal oxide which is acidic

SO2 is a non-metal oxide which is acidic

Basic oxides :
When metals reacts with oxygen they form metallic oxides which are called basic
oxides.

For example :
MgO is a metal oxide which is basic
CaO is a metal oxide which is basic
Neutral oxides :

These are non-metal oxides that neither neutralise acids or base.

Examples - Water - H2O, Carbon monoxide - CO, Dinitrogen oxide - N2O

Amphoteric oxides :

These are metal

oxides that neutralise both acid and bases to form a salt and water
(amphoteric means having both acidic and basic properties)

Examples :
Aluminium oxide - Al2O3 , Zinc oxide - ZnO , Lead(II)oxide - PbO