PROPERTIES OF ACIDS AND BASES

Inquiry Question: What is an acid and what is a base?

Investigate the correct IUPAC nomenclature and properties of common inorganic acids and bases
Inorganic properties Inorganic (mineral) Acids: Inorganic Alkalis (water soluble
bases):
Hydrochloric acid (HCl) Sodium hydroxide (NaOH)
- Clean metals and mortar - AKA caustic soda
- Used in swimming pools to - Cleans blocked drains
adjust pH - Makes soaps and detergents
- Found in the stomach for Potassium hydroxide (KOH)
digestion of food - AKA caustic potash
Sulfuric acid (H2SO4) - Makes soaps and detergents
- Used in car batteries Aqueous ammonia (NH3)
- Used to make fertilisers - Used in cleaning products e.g.
(sulphate of ammonia and cloudy ammonia, floor cleaners
superphosphate)
- Used to make plastics,
detergents, dyes, drugs and
explosives
Nitric acid (HNO3)
- Used in the manufacture of
fertilisers
- Used to make explosives (TNT
and dynamite)
Phosphoric acid (H3PO4)
- Food acid
- Anti-rust products for cars
Carbonic acid (H2CO3)
- Formed when carbon dioxide
gas dissolves in water
General rule Metal oxides = Basic
Non-metal oxides = Acidic
Non-metal oxides React with water to form acids
Non-metal oxide + water  acid
e.g.
SO2(g) + H2O(l) → H2SO3(aq)
Sulfurous Acid
SO3(g) + H2O(l) → H2SO4(aq)
Sulfuric Acid
Cl2O7(l) + H2O(l) → 2 HClO4(aq)
Perchloric Acid

Acidic oxides React with bases to form salt and water (neutralise)
Non-metal Oxide + Base  Salt + water
e.g.
SO3(g) + 2NaOH(aq) → Na2SO4(aq) + H2O(l)
Note - Some oxides can react with acids and bases to form salts (e.g. zinc, lead
and aluminium) = AMPHOTERIC
- Some oxides do not react with either = NEUTRAL (e.g. CO2, NO, NO2)
- The position of an element on the periodic table can be used to predict the
acidity/basicity of an oxide
 NOTE:
- Carbon and nitrogen have acidic and neutral oxides
Features Acids Bases
- Sour - Bitter
- Corrosive - Corrosive
- Dissolve to form conductive sols - Some dissolve to form
- Contain H+ ions conductive sols
Acids An acid is a substance which in solution produces hydrogen ions, H+ or more
strictly H3O+, called hydronium ions.
e.g. vinegar (acetic), carbonic, HCl, citric
Bases A base is a substance that contains either oxide ions (O2-) or hydroxide ions
(OH-) or which in solution
produces hydroxide ions. A soluble base is called an alkali.
e.g. MgO (contains oxide ions)

Alkali = soluble base (all alkalis are bases)

Conduct an investigation to demonstrate the preparation and use of indicators as illustrators of the
characteristics and properties of acids and bases and their reversible reactions
General Usually derived from plants that change colour w pH
Colour changes Acidic Methyl orange
Neutral Bromothymol blue
Litmus
Basic Phenolphthalein
Uses Soil testing:
- Affected by chemicals that are added e.g. fertiliser
- Decomposition of humus and compost increases acidity
- Different plants have different requirements
Swimming pools:
- Chlorine is added to kill bacteria and other potentially dangerous life
forms
- Base (CaOCl2) is added to slowly release the required chlorine
- Acids (cyuranic acid) are added to stabilise the calcium hypochlorite and
stop it from decomposing too quickly
Industry:
- Soap making requires reaction between strong alkalis and fats and oils

Predict the products of acid reactions and write balanced equations to represent: – acids and bases –
acids and carbonates – acids and metals
Acids and bases Acid + base  water + salt NEUTRALISATION
Acids and carbonates Metal carbonate  metal oxide + carbon dioxide
Acids and metals Acid + metal hydroxide  salt + water
Acid + metal oxide  salt + water
Acid + metal carbonate  salt + water + carbon dioxide
Acid + active metal  salt + hydrogen
 Metal + oxygen  metal oxide

Investigate applications of neutralisation reactions in everyday life and industrial processes

Human body - Important in maintaining health
- Stomach produces HCl for digestion and to kill harmful micro-organisms
- When upset = heart burn and indigestion
- Fixed with an antacid  contains base e.g. Mg(OH)2
- Neutralises excess acid
- Acid used to digest partially digested food is neutralised by bile from liver
- Alkaline environment is needed for the enzymes of the small intestine to
work best and for nutrients to be able to be absorbed through the intestinal
wall
- Many foods and drinks are acidic so neutralised by teeth enamel 
hydroxyapatite is decayed due to presence of acid (demineralisation)
- Toothpaste is alkaline  neutralise acids in mouth and removes food
particles that produce acids when they decay
Cooking - Carbon dioxide produced form little bubbles which allow things to rise
when they go in the oven  due to acid + metal carbonate reaction
- Baking soda (sodium hydrogen carbonate) reacts with acidic ingredients
(buttermilk, lemon juice, sour cream) to create carbon dioxide = rises
- Baking powder has both acid and base
Base = sodium hydrogen
Acid = tartaric acid
- The ingredients react with each other when in the presence of a liquid e.g.
water, milk  produces CO2
Agriculture - Neutralisation of soils is important for survival of plants  impacts their
ability to take up nutrients
- If too acidic, calcium carbonate is added
- If too basic, calcium sulphate is added
Hydrangeas - Some plants contain natural indicators
- Flower changes colour depending on acidity or alkalinity of soil
- Pink = alkaline
Blue = basic
- Fertilisers can alter acidity  ammonium sulphate, ammonium nitrate are
made from a neutralisation reaction between sulphuric/nitric acid and
ammonia gas
Industrial waste - Waste water is often basic or acidic
- Treated and neutralised before released into waterways

Conduct a practical investigation to measure the enthalpy of neutralisation

Explore the changes in definitions and models of an acid and a base over time to explain the
limitations of each model, including but not limited to:
Lavoisier (1780) - All acids contain oxygen
- Bubbling CO2 through water
creates acidic sol
Davy (1815) - Acids contain H that could be
replaced by a metal
2HCl + Mg  MgCl2 + H2
Arrhenius’ theory (1884) - Acids are substances that
produce H ions in sol
- Bases produce OH ions in sol
(first to discuss bases)
HCl  H+ + Cl-
- Lots of chemicals with O are not
acidic
- HCl??
- Things w H that aren’t acidic e.g.
HgH2
- All acids in school labs are in
aqueous form
- Doesn’t explain NH3
- Only works for aqueous sols 
can’t explain acids and bases
 NaOH  Na+ + OH- when not aqueous
NH3 + H2O  NH4Cl
- Can’t explain amphoteric e.g. ZnO
Brønsted–Lowry theory - Involve H+ proton ADV:
(1923) - Acids are proton donors - Can apply to non-aqu
- Bases are proton acceptors - Explains amphoteric

DIS:
- Reaction between acidic and basic
oxides NOT explained
CaO + SO3  CaSO4 (no H
present)

USING BRØNSTED–LOWRY THEORY

Inquiry Question: What is the role of water in solutions of acids and bases?
Conduct a practical investigation to measure the pH of a range of acids and bases
Resource G Chemical pH probe Universal Avg pH
indicator
NaCl 5.71 7 6.36
NaOH 11.65 8 9.83
NH3 10.67 11 10.84
H2O 8.11 7 7.56
HCl 0.61 4 2.31
CH3COOH 1.55 3 2.28

Using universal indicator is a destructive test as the chemical is altered and is

no longer the same. The pH probe is on destructive as it does not alter the
chemical in any way.

Calculate pH, pOH, hydrogen ion concentration ([H+ ]) and hydroxide ion concentration ([OH– ]) for
a range of solutions
pH Definition:
- A scale of acidity and alkalinity
- A measure of the hydrogen ion concentration of a solution
- The pH scale is logarithmic scale
- A decrease in pH of 1 means 10x the concentration of H3O+

pH=−log 10 ¿¿

pOH Definition:
- A measure of the hydroxide ion concentration of a solution

p O H =−log 10 ¿¿
Relationships pOH + pH = 14

Conduct an investigation to demonstrate the use of pH to indicate the differences between the strength
of acids and bases
pH - If 2 acids have the same conc, the stronger acid will produce more H+
ions = lower pH
- Allows pH to be used to determine the relative strengths of acids and
 bases
- Concs must be the same
Protics Monoprotic:
An acid that donates only one proton or H+ ion per molecule to an aqueous
solution

Diprotic:
An acid that can donate two protons or H+ ions per molecule to an aqueous
sol

Triprotic:
Can donate three H+ ions
Acidity

Investigation Worksheet I

Write ionic equations to represent the dissociation of acids and bases in water, conjugate acid/base
pairs in solution and amphiprotic nature of some salts, for example: – sodium hydrogen carbonate –
potassium dihydrogen phosphate
General Strong acids
Completely ionise in water
e.g. HCl, H2SO4, HNO3, HBR
HCl  H+ + Cl-

Weak Acids
Only partly ionise in water
e.g. H2CO3, CH3COOH, H3PO4, H2SO4
CH3COOH ⇄ CH3COO- + H+
 will still be some CH3COOH ions in solution

Acids
- Molecular covalent compounds

- When water is added they react to produce ions = IONISATION

- Acid dissolved and is ionised
- H3O+ ions are what give acidic properties
- Strong acids are normally inorganic  don’t often have a C e.g.
hydrochloric, sulphuric
- Weak acids are often organic e.g. acetic/ethanoic and oxalic acids

Concentrated and Dilute

- UNRELATED to strong and weak
- Concentration of H+ or OH- ions determines how concentrated an
acid/base is
- Dilution doesn’t impact how strong an acid is  still ionises the same
amount

Conjugate acids and bases:

 - The stronger an acid is, the weaker its conjugate base will be
- According to Bronsted-Lowry, neutralisation is:
A + B  CB of A + CA of B

Amphiprotic:
- Definition = a species which can either donate or accept a proton
- Amphoteric = can react as an acid or base

e.g. Potassium dihydrogen phosphate

Base: HPO42- + H+  H2PO4-
Acid: HPO42- – H+  H+ + PO43-

Protics:
Monoprotic:
- HCl can only donate 1 proton = monoprotic
HCl + H2O  H3O+ + Cl-
- H2SO4 can donate 2 protons = diprotic
H2SO4 + H2O  HSO4- + H3O+
HSO4- + H2O ⇌ SO42- + H3O+
H2SO4 + 2H2O → SO42- + 2H3O+
Safety - Handle with great care using rubber gloves and goggles

Construct models and/or animations to communicate the differences between strong, weak,
concentrated and dilute acids and bases

Calculate the pH of the resultant solution when solutions of acids and/or bases are diluted or mixed
Acid base properties of - Salts from SA + SB / WA + WB = neutral
salts - Salts from SA + WB = acidic
- Salts from SB + WA = basic
QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS
Inquiry Question: How are solutions of acids and bases analysed?
Conduct practical investigations to analyse the concentration of an unknown acid or base by titration
Titrations  volumetric - Neutralisation reactions can be used to find the conc of an acid or base
analysis with volumetric analysis
- Highly accurate process
- Usually repeated a number of times
Standard solution Characteristics:
- Concentration is accurately known
- Must be obtainable in very pure form and have a known formula
- Should not alter during the weighing by picking up or losing moisture or
reacting with air
- Should have a high relative formula mass to minimise weighing errors
Method to make:

Back titration Method:

1. Take unknown substance and react it with known excess of standard
solution
2. Find no of mols of excess standard sol using vol and conc
3. Take resultant sol and titrate w another standard sol to find amount of
excess
4. Find out how many mols of the secondary solution was used
5. Then find no of mols of unknown
6. Convert to a mass

Uses:
- Performed when the reaction involves a weak acid or base and the reaction
 is slow or the acid/base is not in liquid form
Practical Resource N

Investigate titration curves and conductivity graphs to analyse data to indicate characteristic reaction
profiles, for example:
Titration curves

Conductivity curves Strong acid/strong base:

Strong acid/weak base:

Weak acid/strong base:

 Weak acid/weak base:

Model neutralisation of strong and weak acids and bases using a variety of media

Calculate and apply the dissociation constant (Ka) and pKa (pKa = -log10 (Ka)) to determine the
difference between strong and weak acids
Water Kw = [H+] x [OH-] = 1.0 x 10-14
Strong vs Weak acids SA WA
Ka ↑ Ka ↓
pKa ↓ pKa ↑
pKa Same relationship as pH
p K a=−log K a

Explore acid/base analysis techniques that are applied:

In industries Wine making:
- Titration used in food/beverage industry to determine amount of salt/sugar
or conc of vitamin c
- Allows scientists to explore complex chemistry of wine making
- Legal requirement to label alcohol level → monitoring density changes or
titrations
o As fermentation occurs density ↓
o Hydrometer tracks density change
o Back titrations used
- Gas chromatography determines the amount of ethanol etc that is naturally
produced in fermentation
- Titratable acidity → acids titrated with strong base

Mining:
- Metal alloys and ores analysed w AAS, spectroscopy and titrations
- Titrations used to determine % composition
- Potentiometric titration
o Chemical determines the end point
 o Electric potential across sol is measured
o Ions in sol are conductive  more ions present = higher
conductivity of sol
o 2 electrodes placed in sol to measure potential silver dissolved in
nitric acid, potassium chloride in burette  silver chloride
precipitate
By Aboriginal and Soap tree:
Torres Strait Islander - Crushing and rubbing of leaves with water causes it to lather
Peoples - Rubbed onto skin as a antiseptic treatment
- The leaves contain saponins which are acidic
- One end of this molecule is hydrophobic and the other end is hydrophilic
allowing it to act as a soap

Stings:
- Bracken fern was used to neutralise ant stings
- Found that the leaves are basic

Clay:
- Used ochre and clay to treat indigestion
- Has basic properties so neutralises stomach acid
- Absorbs excess toxins
Using digital probes and - pH probe
instruments - acid/base titrations
- spectroscopy (IR, AAS, mass spec) – chromatography
- electrophoresis

Conduct a chemical analysis of a common household substance for its acidity or basicity, for example:

– soft drink – wine – juice – medicine

Conduct a practical investigation to prepare a buffer and demonstrate its properties

Resource S Definition:
A buffer is a solution that minimises changes in pH if small amounts of an
acid or base is added to it

Method:
1. Measure out the acid and conjugate base
2. Dissolve together in 100mL of water

Describe the importance of buffers in natural systems

Definitions - Contains an acidic species to neutralise OH – ions and a basic species to
neutralise H + ions
- The two species have to be able to coexist without neutralising each other
- Made of weak acid-base conjugate pairs

Buffer:
WA + salt of CB
WB + salt of CA
Human body Phosphate buffer system:
H2PO4- / HPO42-
H2PO4 + H2O ⇋ HPO42- + H3O+
- Balances out blood pH
- Has to stay between 7.4 and 7.45
- Otherwise enzymes denature
Ocean Carbonate/hydrogen carbonate system:
 H2CO3 + H2O ⇋ HCO3- + H3O+
- Buffer maintains ocean pH
- CO2 from air dissolves to form ocean pH
- Recently pH ↓ 0.1 = 30% ↑ in H+ ions
- Buffers not coping with increase in CO2

- How does protics impact the strength of an acid??  diprotic stroger??