Chapter 16: Acids, alkalis and titrations

Acids and alkalis

1. Use the words in the box to complete the gaps below. Use each word only once.

Missing words: acid, alkali, greater, hydrogen, ions, less, neutral, pH, stronger, sulfuric, ten

ACID
We can measure the strength of an ____________ or alkali using the pH scale. Solutions that

LESS
have a pH of ____________ than 7 are classified as acids. Solutions with a pH of

GREATER
_________________ than 7 are classified as alkalis. Solutions with a pH of 7 are said to be

NEUTRAL
___________________. Acids and alkalis can be weak or strong. The further from pH 7 an

STRONGER
acid is the ____________________ TEN
it is. An acid with a pH of 4 is _________________ times

pH
stronger than an acid with a ___________________ of 5. A strong acid has a high

HYDROGEN
concentration of _____________________ ions. An example of a strong acid is

SULFURIC
__________________ ALKALI
acid. An example of a strong ______________ is sodium hydroxide. A

IONS
strong alkali has a high concentration of hydroxide _________________.

Indicators

2. Complete the table below to show the expected results in acids and alkalis of the most
common indicators.

Indicator Colour in acid Colour in alkali

Universal indicator
RED BLUE TO PURPLE
Methyl orange
RED YELLOW
Litmus
RED BLUE
Phenolphthalein COLOURLESS PINK

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Strong and weak acids and alkalis

3. For each of the following give an example and suggest what pH you would expect.

a. A weak acid.
Exampl e:Aceticaci d (CH3COOH)
______________________________________________________________________
Expected pH:Around 3-5
______________________________________________________________________

b. A strong alkali.
Exampl e:Sodi um hydroxide (NaOH)
______________________________________________________________________
Expected pH:Around 13-14
______________________________________________________________________

c. A strong acid.
Exampl e:Hydrochl oric aci
d (HCl )
______________________________________________________________________
Expected pH:Around 0-1
______________________________________________________________________

d. A weak alkali.
Exampl e:Ammoni um hydroxi de (NH4OH)
______________________________________________________________________
Expected pH:Around 8-10
______________________________________________________________________

e. A neutral solution.
Exampl e:Pure water(H2O)
______________________________________________________________________
Expected pH:Exactl
y7
______________________________________________________________________

© Pearson Education Ltd 2018. Copying permitted for purchasing institution only. This material is not copyright free.