Chemistry: Acids, Bases and Salts

Self-assessment

The aim of this self-assessment is to provide formative assessment, for you to identify any areas of weakness in your subject
knowledge and to help you develop learning targets for developing your subject knowledge.

● How well did you answer the session questions? Use this self-assessment sheet to help you find out.

● Using the self-assessment below, mark your work and then read the assessment criteria in each column – which criteria do
your answers most closely resemble? Have you included all the points suggested?
● Shade in the answer that matches yours most closely (use a light-grey background shading) so that you can see the areas
where your subject knowledge is strong and where you may need to strengthen your subject knowledge.

Finally, reflect on your answers overall (you should be aiming for answers in the green column) and identify any areas of weakness,
and use these to set yourself a learning target. Explain which areas you need to improve upon and how you will do this.

1
Questions
1. Name some suitable chemicals to
make the following salts:
a) Copper chloride
b) Sodium nitrate
c) Copper carbonate
d) Magnesium sulfate
Red Amber Green
More than three Up to three individual errors. a) Copper oxide or copper carbonate
errors. and hydrochloric acid.
b) Sodium hydroxide and nitric acid.
c) Any soluble copper salt, such as
copper nitrate or copper sulfate and
any soluble carbonate, such as
sodium carbonate or potassium
carbonate.
d) Magnesium, magnesium oxide or
magnesium carbonate and sulfuric
acid.

2. A solution containing 0.1 moldm -3 of
hydrochloric acid has a pH of 1. A
solution with the same concentration
of ethanoic acid has a pH of 3. What
explanation can you suggest for the
difference?
No answer Some ideas from the green
section but not wholly correct.
Hydrochloric is a strong acid and ill
fully dissociate (ionize), but ethanoic
acid is weak acid and only partially
dissociates, so less oxonium ions
(hydrogen ions) are produced.

2
3. A student was asked to make Make more than Up to three individual errors. a) Hydrochloric acid
sodium chloride crystals using three errors. b) Neutralisation
sodium hydroxide solution. c) Titration
a) Which acid should be added? d) Use an indicator and add the alkali
b) Name the process taking until the end point is reached.
place in this reaction. e) Repeat without indicator, evaporate
c) Name the technique for to half volume; leave for crystals to
obtaining the salt. form.
d) The student used 25cm3 acid.
How would he/she find out the
correct amount of alkali
needed?
e) How would the student now
obtain sodium chloride
crystals?

4. Sherbet contains solid sodium
hydrogencarbonate and solid citric
acid. Sherbet will only fizz when
water is added, such as when it is
put in your mouth.
a. Explain why that is.
b. What is the gas that produces
the fizz?
No answer a) Acid substances only
become acidic when water
is present.
b) Carbon dioxide
a) Acid substances only become
acidic when water is present. This is
because the oxonium ions
(hydrogen ions) are not present
unless in solution.
b) Carbon dioxide

5. Write the equation for the formation No answer Partially correct HBr + H2O  H3O+ + Br-
of oxonium ions from hydrobromic
acid.

6. Explain why methyl orange would No answer Methyl orange changes to its Methyl orange changes to its alkaline

3
 not be a good indicator for strong alkaline colour at pH 4.4 (low colour at pH 4.4 (low pH) and above,
acid/ strong alkali titrations. pH) and above. so the end point would not show at
pH7.

A-level questions
7. What
-3
is the pH of 0.25 moldm No answer. Correct answer but no working. pH= -log[0.25] = 0.60
hydrochloric acid? (Show your
work)

8. In the following acid base No answer. Only one correct. a) Base is OH-
reactants, which is the reactant that b) Base is CO32-
is acting as a Bronsted Lowry
base?

9. When ethanoic acid is added to
water, it reacts reversibly to give
ethanoate ions and oxonium ions:
CH3COOH + H2O – CH3COO- +
H3O+.
a) What is meant by conjugate
acid and conjugate bases?
b) What are the conjugate pairs in
this reaction?
No answer or both a) Answer doesn’t stress the a) A conjugate acid or base
incorrect. difference in hydrogen ion differs from its respective
(proton). acid or base by one
b) Pairs correct. hydrogen ion (proton).
b) Ethanoic acid and ethanoate
ions Water and oxonium ions
(formula could be given).