Brønsted-Lowry Acids and Bases

A description of acids and bases wherein it involves the transfer and reception of a proton
(or assigned as H+)
o An acid is a substance that can donate a proton; while
o A base is a substance that accepts a proton

EXAMPLE:

HCl + H2O  Cl- + H3O+

acid base
(as it donates its H+)

(as it received an H+ from HCl)

The pH Scale and the Acid-Base Properties of Water

A substance is acidic when its pH value is less than 7, while it is basic or alkaline if its pH
value is greater than 7.
Water (H2O) can act as an acid and base, as it can receive an H+ to become H3O+ (AKA
hydronium ion), and can also donate H+ to form OH- (AKA hydroxide ions)
We can obtain a substance’s pH and pOH (potential of Hydrogen and Hydroxide, respectfully)
by using the given/obtained [H+] or [H3O+] for pH, and [OH-] for pOH
pH = -log[H+] = -log[H3O+]
pOH = -log[OH-]
pH + pOH = 14
Meanwhile, in order to obtain the Hydrogen/Hydronium ( [H+] or [H3O+] ) and Hydroxide
( [OH-] ) concentrations from the given pH and pOH, just compute for the inverse logarithm
raised to the negative pH or pOH:
[OH-] = 10-pOH
[H3O+] or [H+] = 10-pH
EXAMPLE:
What is the pH of the blood if its [H+] is 3.50 x 10-8? Is the blood acidic or alkaline? What is
the pOH and [OH-] of the blood?
Answers:
pH = 7.46; alkaline; pOH = 6.54; [OH ] = 2.86 x 10-7
-

Strength of Acids and Bases

A strong acid or base completely dissociates in water; while

A weak acid or base does not completely dissociate in water.
The term dissociate or dissociation refers to how well the elements within a compound
separates from one another.
For an acid to be classified as strong, it needs to donate all of its available H+ or hydrogen
ions
For a base to be classified as strong, it needs to receive all of the available H+ or hydrogen
ions
LIST OF STRONG ACIDS AND BASES
Common Ion Effect

Describes the effect on a reaction at equilibrium when an ion is added to the solution which is
common to a solute present in solution.

In the reaction:

PbCl2 (s) ↔ Pb2+(aq) + Cl-(aq)

if NaCl is added (which has Cl- as its common ion), the reaction will shift to the left (which
causes precipitation of PbCl2 (s).

Solubility of Salts

• The solubility of salts in water is determined by the solubility product constant or Ksp.

↑solubilitysalt, ↑Ksp

• Solubility and its relation to the common ion effect:

↑[ions], ↑Qsp (ion product)

If…

Ksp > Qsp, no precipitation occurs

Ksp < Qsp, precipitation takes place

Example:

If KspAgCl = 1.77 x 10-10 and upon addition of NaCl results to a value of Qsp = 4.6 x 10-9, will a
precipitate form? (ANSWER: yes)

ELECTROCHEMISTRY

Things to remember:

LEORA and GEROA

(a compound that Lose Electron undergoes Oxidation and act as Reducing Agent)

(a compound that Gains Electron undergoes Reduction and act as Oxidizing Agent)

Oxidation occurs at the ANODE (O-A); while

Reduction occurs at the CATHODE (C-R)