NOTES ON Ch.

2- Acids, Bases and Salts

1. What are indicators? Mention the different types of indicators with examples.

Ans. Indicators are the substances that tell us whether a substance is acidic or
basic by a change in colour.

Types of indicators:

a) NATURAL INDICATORS: They are obtained from natural sources. E.g. Litmus
(blue and red) obtained from lichens, turmeric, beet root, red cabbage etc.

b) SYNTHETIC INDICATORS: They are prepared using chemicals.

E.g. Phenolphthalein, Methyl orange, methyl red etc.

c) OLFACTORY INDICATORS: These are the indicators whose odour changes in

acidic or basic medium.

E.g. onion, vanilla, clove etc.

2. Indicate the colour change of the following indicators in acidic and basic
medium.
 Ans

3. What happens when:

i) ACIDS REACT WITH METALS?

Ans. They form the respective metal salt and hydrogen gas.

H2SO4 + Zn → ZnSO4 + H2

ii) BASES REACT WITH METALS?

Ans. They form the respective metal salt and hydrogen gas.

(but not all metals and not all bases react)

2NaOH + Zn → Na2ZnO2 + H2

( Sodium zincate )

2NaOH + Al → NaAlO2 + H2 (Sodium aluminate)

iii)ACIDS REACT WITH METAL CARBONATES AND BICARBONATES?

Ans. They form metal salt, CO2 and water.

Na2CO3 + HCl → NaCl + H2O + CO2

NaHCO3 + HCl → NaCl + H2O + CO2

iv) ACIDS AND BASES REACT WITH EACH OTHER?

Ans. They form salt and water. This is a neutralization reaction.

NaOH + HCl → NaCl + H2O

v) ACIDS REACT WITH METAL OXIDES?

Ans. They form salt and water. Metal oxides are basic.

So, this is a neutralization reaction.

2HCl + CuO → CuCl2 + H2O

Black bluish green

vi) BASES REACT WITH NON-METALLIC OXIDES:

Ans. They form salt and water. Nonmetallic oxides are acidic.

So, this is a neutralization reaction.

NaOH + CO2 → Na2CO3 + H2O

4. What is the standard test for carbon dioxide? What happens when excess
carbon dioxide is passed through lime water?

Ans. On passing carbon dioxide through lime water, it turns milky due to the
formation of white precipitate of calcium carbonate.

Ca (OH)2 + CO2 → CaCO3 (s) + H2O

On passing excess CO2, the milky appearance disappears as soluble calcium

hydrogen carbonate is formed.
 CaCO3 + H2O+ CO2 → Ca(HCO3)2. (aq.)

5. What is the difference between a base and an alkali?

Ans. All bases do not dissolve in water. A base that dissolves in water is called
an alkali. All alkalis are bases but all bases are not alkalis. They are soapy to
touch, bitter and corrosive.

Eg. Strong bases like NaOH, KOH are alkalis but bases like aluminum
hydroxide or copper hydroxide are not alkalis.

6. When does an acid conduct electricity or show its acidic nature?

Ans. An acid conducts electricity only in the form of aqueous solution in which
it can dissociate to form hydrogen ions(H+) or hydronium ions(H3O+)which help
it to conduct electricity or show its acidic nature.

7. When does a base conduct electricity or show its basic nature?

Ans. A base conducts electricity when it is present in the form of aqueous

solution where it dissociates to form hydroxyl ions(OH-) which help it to conduct
electricity or show its basic nature.

8. What is meant by dilution of an acid or a base?

Ans. Mixing an acid or a base with water results in a decrease in the

+
concentration of ions (H3O /OH–) per unit volume. Such a process is called

dilution and the acid or the base is said to be diluted.

9. What care should be taken while diluting an acid or a base?

Ans. The process of dissolving an acid or a base in water is a highly exothermic

one. Care must be taken while mixing concentrated acid with water. The acid
must always be added slowly to water with constant stirring.
If water is added to a concentrated acid, the heat generated may cause the
mixture to splash out and cause burns. The glass container may also break due
to excessive local heating.

10. Explain the different types of salts. How is the strength of an acid or

a base determined?

Ans.Types of salts:Refer TB

The strength of an acid or a base is determined by the number of hydrogen ions

or hydroxyl ions respectively.

Strong acids give more H+ ions while weak acids give less H+ ions in the aqueous
solution.

Strong bases give more OH - ions while weak bases give less OH – ions in the
aqueous solution.

11. Explain pH, pH scale, universal indicators, relation between pH and strength
of acid/base.

Ans. i) pH is a number which indicates the acidic or basic nature of a solution.

The p in pH stands for ‘potenz’ in German, meaning power.

Ii) pH scale is used for measuring hydrogen ion concentration in a solution.

On the pH scale we can measure pH from 0 (very acidic) to 14 (very

alkaline).
The pH of a neutral solution is 7.
Values less than 7 on the pH scale represent an acidic solution.
Values more than 7 represent a basic solution.

iii) To measure the strength of an acid or a base solution we use a universal

indicator which is a mixture of many indicators which gives different colours at
different pH values and different concentrations of ions in the solution.
 Generally, a paper impregnated (soaked) with the universal indicator is used
for measuring pH.

iv)As the pH value increases from 0 to 7, it represents a decrease in H+ ion

concentration of hydronium ion concentration in the solution, that is, a
decrease in the strength of acid.

As the pH value increases from 7 to 14, it represents an increase in OH– ion

concentration in the solution, that is, an increase in the strength of alkali.

12. What do you understand by the water of crystallisation? Give examples.

Ans. Water of cystallisation is the fixed number of water molecules present in one
formula unit of a salt.

Examples:

a) Cu SO4. 5H2O b) CaSO4 . ½ H2O c) CaSO4.2H2O

d) Na2CO3.10H2O e) FeSO4. 7H2O