Acids, Bases and Salts

What are acids?

• Acids are a class of chemicals that produce H+ ions in water.

• Common lab acids: Hydrochloric acid (HCl), Sulphuric acid (H2SO4), Nitric acid (HNO3)

• Many non-metal oxides (SO2, SO3, NO2, P2O5) are acidic. Note: N2O, NO and CO are neutral oxides

• Examples - HCl (aq) -> H+ (aq) + Cl- (aq)

H2SO4 (aq) -> 2H+ (aq) + SO42- (aq)

HNO3 (aq) -> H+(aq) + NO3- (aq)

SO2(g) + H2O(l) -> 2H+ (aq)+ SO32- (aq)

SO3(g) + H2O(l) -> 2H+ (aq)+ SO42- (aq)

NO2(g) + H2O(l) -> 2H+ (aq)+ NO3- (aq)

P2O5(g) + 3H2O(l) -> 6H+ (aq)+ 2PO43- (aq)

 Bases and alkalis

• Bases are the chemical opposites of acids. They react with acids in neutralization reactions to produce salts.

• Most metal oxides (Na2O, CaO, BaO, MgO, CuO, Fe2O3), metal hydroxides (NaOH, KOH, Ca(OH)2, Fe(OH)3 etc.) and
ammonia are bases.

• Common lab bases: Sodium Hydroxide (NaOH), Potassium Hydroxide (KOH), ammonia (NH 3).

• Some bases (e.g., NaOH, Na2O, MgO, CaO, NH3) are soluble in water; some bases (CuO, Fe2O3, Fe(OH)3) are not.

• The water-soluble bases, when dissolved in water, produce OH- ions.

Examples - NaOH(aq) -> Na+ (aq) + OH- (aq)
Mg(OH)2(aq) -> Mg2+ (aq) + 2OH- (aq)

NH3(g) + H2O(l) -> NH4+(aq) + OH-(aq)

Na2O (s) + H2O (l) -> 2Na+ (aq) + 2OH-(aq)

CaO (s) + H2O (l) -> Ca2+ (aq) + 2OH-(aq)

• The solutions of bases in water are called alkalis. So only some bases (the water-soluble bases) can form alkalis, other
bases (the ones that do not dissolve) cannot form alkalis.
• Acids and bases react with each other in neutralization reaction

Acid + Base -> Salt (and sometimes water)

Example:

HCl + NaOH -> NaCl + H2O

H2SO4 + KOH -> K2SO4 + H2O

H2SO4 + MgO -> MgSO4 + H2O

HCl + NH3 -> NH4Cl

H2SO4 + 2NH3 -> (NH4 )2SO4

 NEUTRALISATION - IONIC EQUATION
In all alkali – acid reactions, the same ionic reaction takes place…

sodium hydroxide + dil. nitric acid —> sodium nitrate + water

NaOH(aq) + HNO3 (aq) —> NaNO3 (aq) + H2O (l)

Na+(aq) + OH¯(aq) + H+(aq) + NO3¯(aq) —> Na+(aq) + NO3¯(aq) + H2O(l)

cancel ions H+(aq) + OH¯(aq) —> H2O(l)

from from
acid alkali
Which of these are acidic ? Which are basic? Which are neutral?

Milk
Vinegar
Citrus fruits
Toothpaste
Apple Laundry Detergent
Vitamin C
Tamarind
Plain water
Table salt
Antacid tablet Salt water
Toilet cleaner Drain cleaner

Ant sting Milk of magneisa (used as laxative, has Mg(OH)2)

 Which of these are substances ? Which are basic? Which are neutral?

Acidic Basic Neutral

Vinegar Laundry Detergent Plain water - Neutral
Apple Toothpaste Table salt – Neutral
Tamarind Antacid tablet Salt water – Neutral
Toilet cleaner Milk of magnesia (used as laxative, has
Ant sting Mg(OH)2)

Milk
Citrus fruits
Drain cleaner – Can
Vitamin C (present in citrus fruits)
be acidic or basic
 Properties of acids and bases
Bases
Acids
•Feels slippery
•Is corrosive, if concentrated
•Is corrosive if concentrated
•Tastes sour
•Tastes bitter
•Measures < 7 on the pH scale
•May or may not be water
soluble. Solutions of bases
are called alkalis
•Measures > 7 on the 
pH scale
 pH scale for Solutions
• pH scale tells us how acidic or alkaline a solution is.

• It is related to the concentration of H+ ions in the solution.

• More the concentration of H+ ions in the solution, lower is the pH.

• pH can be negative too.

• Acidic solutions have a higher concentration of H + ions compared to OH- ions

• Basic or alkaline solutions have a higher concentration of OH - ions compared

to H+ ions

• Neutral solutions (plain water, salt water) have an equal concentration of H +

and OH- ions. In water, most of the water exist as undissociated H 2O
molecules. But a small fraction (only 2 out of 1 billion water molecules)
dissociate into H+ and OH- ions :
H2O -> H+ + OH-

Since the number of H+ and OH- ions are the same, water is neutral. It can
only be
made acidic or alkaline by adding acid or a water-soluble base to it and thus
increasing either the concentration of H+ ions or OH- ions.
.
 Indicators
• Indicator is a substance that changes colour depending on the pH

• Common Indicators:

Indicator Colour in acidic Colour in basic Colour in neutral

solution solution solution
Litmus Red Blue Purple
Universal Indicator Red Blue Green
Methyl Orange Red Yellow Orange
Phenolpthalein Colourless Pink Colourless

Please memorize these colours!

https://youtu.be/jEvhhxg2yKA - Go through this video to see

how indicators change colours
QUESTION
Acid-base Theories
• Svante Arrhenius (Swiss scientist, won Nobel prize in 1903): Acids are substances that produce H+ (aq) ions
in water, bases are substances that produce OH- (aq) in water (Arrhenius Theory)

• But this theory cannot explain acidic or basic property of a substance in the absence of water
Example: HCl(g) + NH3(g) -> NH4Cl (s) can not be explained as an acid-base reaction by Arrhenius theory
since no water is involved.

• Bronsted-Lowry theory gets around this limitation. It says an acid is a proton (H+) donor, a base is a H+
(proton) acceptor.

Here HCl donates a H+, so is an acid.

NH3 accepts the H+ to become NH4+, so is a base.

Acids as proton donors, Bases as proton
acceptors
HCl donates proton so is an acid.
H2O accepts proton to become a H3O+ (hydroxonium ion), so is a base.

H+
H2O + NH3 -> NH4+ + OH- H2O donates a proton to become a OH- ion, so is an acid.
NH3 accepts a proton to become NH4+, so is a base.

Here HCl donates a H+, so is an acid.

NH3 accepts the H+ to become NH4+, so is a base.
QUESTION – Already assigned, answer yet to be discussed
Why is HCl gas dissolved in water an acid but dissolved in
methylbenzene not an acid?

• Hydrogen chloride gas dissolves in both water and in

methylbenzene. But it dissociates into H+ ions only when added
to water but not when added to methylbenzene. In
methylbenzene it stays as undissociated HCl molecules and
hence can’t act as a proton (H+) donor.
 Strength vs Concentration

• Strength of an acid is the extent to
which it dissociates in water. More it
dissociates, stronger it is. Less it
dissociates, weaker it is.
• STRONG ACIDS COMPLETELY dissociate
(split up) into ions e.g., sulphuric,
hydrochloric, nitric acid
• WEAK ACIDS PARTIALLY dissociate
(split up) into ions i.e. only a small
fraction of all the molecules dissociate
e.g. ethanoic, citric, carbonic acid
•Concentration of an acid is HOW MUCH of the acid has been
mixed in water. More the acid added, more is the
concentration.
•If the same amount of the very strong HCl acid is dissolved
separately in 10 litres and 1 litre of water, then the second
acid solution is 10 times more concentrated than the first
solution. The first solution, though a strong acid, is a dilute
one. It has a much lower H+ ion concentration than the
second solution and will thus have a higher pH.
•Similarly, if we take same amounts of the strong acid HCl and
the weak ethanoic acid and dissolve both separately in 1 litre
of water, the concentration of H+ ions in the solution of
ethanoic acid will be far less as only a few of its molecules will
have split up into ions. So, its pH will be higher.

So, pH depends on both strength and dilution of an acid.

Reactions of acids
• Metal + Acid -> Salt + Hydrogen
(above H in reactivity series)

• Metal + Acid -> No reaction

(below H in reactivity series)

• Metal oxide/hydroxide + Acid -> Salt + Water

• Metal carbonate + Acid -> Salt + CO2 + H2O

• Metal hydrogencarbonate + Acid -> Salt + CO2 + H2O

 QUESTION – PLEASE COMPLETE
Complete the table below:
Word equation Chemical Ionic equation Observation
equation
copper (II) oxide + sulphuric acid ->

sodium hydroxide + hydrochloric acid ->

copper(II) carbonate + nitric acid ->

magnesium + sulphuric acid ->

sodium hydrogencarbonate + hydrochloric

acid ->
Making salts
 Making salts – Reactions that are used
Reactions used to make salts

• Metal + Acid -> Salt + Hydrogen E.g., Mg (s) + 2HCl (aq) -> MgCl2 + H2
(if metal is above H in reactivity series)

• Metal oxide + Acid -> Salt + Water E.g., CuO (s) + H2SO4 (aq) -> CuSO4 + H2O

• Metal hydroxide + Acid -> Salt + Water E.g., NaOH (aq) + HNO3 (aq) -> NaNO3 (aq) + H2O (l)

• Metal carbonate + Acid -> Salt + CO2 + H2O E.g., Na2CO3 (s) + 2HCl -> 2 NaCl + CO2 + H2O

• Metal hydrogencarbonate + Acid -> Salt + CO2 + H2O E.g., NaHCO3 + HCl -> NaCl + CO2 + H2O

• Soluble salt 1 + Soluble salt 2  Insoluble salt 3 + Soluble Salt 4 These are called PRECIPITATION
REACTIONS E.g., PbNO3 (aq) + K2SO4 (aq) -> PbSO4 (s) + KNO3 (aq)
 Making salts - methods
Salts can be made in many ways (Refer to all the reactions in the previous slide). The method chosen should be such that it is easy to
separate the salt from any other products and any unreacted reactant. So, the method depends on whether the salt is soluble in
water or not.

• Reaction of acid with metal/insoluble metal-

• Precipitation method: If the salt is insoluble in water, the
reactants MUST all be solutions so that the solid salt can be
separated out as a residue upon filtration. So we use the
reaction:
SOLUBLE SALT1 SOLUTION + SOLUBLE SALT2 SOLUTION -> INSOLUBLE SALT3 (NEEDED) +
SOLUBLE SALT4 SOLUTION (TO BE THROWN AWAY)
oxide/insoluble metal carbonate): React a metal/an
insoluble metal-oxide/insoluble metal carbonate with
an acid. The metal/insoluble metal-oxide/insoluble
metal carbonate is to be taken as an excess so that at
the end of the reaction, the excess reactant, which is in
solid form, can be filtered out to obtain the salt
solution as filtrate.

• Titration method: If the solid metal reacts too violently

with acid or if the metal-oxide and metal carbonates
are both soluble in water then there would be no way
to separate them out. In that case, we will have to
react acid and alkali solutions in EXACT PROPORTIONS
to ensure titration that there is the excess reactant left
at the end of the reaction. We determine the exact
proportions via titration.
 Solubility rules
So, how to know if an ionic compound is soluble or not?

Well, from the following rules –

- All nitrates are soluble

- All Group 1 and ammonium salts, oxides, hydroxides, carbonates are soluble
- Calcium hydroxide is soluble. The solution is called limewater.
- All hydrogencarbonates are soluble
- All sulfates except lead(II) sulfate, barium sulfate and silver sulfate (PbSO4, BaSO4, AgSO4) are soluble
- All halides except silver halides and lead(II) halides (AgCl, AgBr, AgI, PbCl2, PbBr2, PbI2) are soluble.

Any other ionic compound that you would come across in your syllabus will be insoluble.
Is the salt to be made soluble or insoluble?
 If insoluble (e.g., BaSO4 , PbCl2, AgCl, PbSO4 etc) follow method 1.
 If soluble salt but not Group1/ammonium salt, then follow method 2
 If soluble salt AND Group 1/ammonium salt (e.g., NH4Cl, K2SO4) then follow method 2
Method 1 (PRECIPITATION) Method 2 (Reaction of acid with
metal/insoluble metal-oxide/insoluble
metal carbonate):
1. Dissolve two soluble solids in
distilled water taken in a beaker,
1. Add solid metal (if metal reacts gently
stirring with a glass rod. A solid with dilute acid)/metal oxide/metal
precipitate will appear. carbonate IN EXCESS to acid in beaker,
while stirring with glass rod.
2. Filter the reaction mixture. 2. Filter the reaction mixture.
3. Heat the filtrate in an evaporating
3. Wash the residue with distilled basin to dryness (if anhydrous salt is
needed) OR just enough to
water.
make it concentrated (if crystals are
needed)
4. Dry the residue by dabbing with 4. Cool the filtrate to allow crystals to
blotting paper. form.
5. Filter crystals (ONLY if there is lot of
water left)
6. Dry the crystals by dabbing with
blotting paper.
Method 3 (TITRATION first with
indicator and then without )
1. Place a measured quantity of acid
or alkali in a conical flask.
2. Add three or four drops of a
suitable indicator.
3. If acid is taken in conical flask, fill
the burette with alkali. If alkali is
taken in conical flask, fill the
burette with acid. Note the level
of the liquid in burette.
4. Add the alkali to the acid until the
indicator just changes color.
Note the new level of liquid.
5. Repeat experiment with exactly
the same volumes but no
indicator.
6. Heat the reaction mixture in an
evaporating basin
7. Cool the solution to allow crystals
to form.
 https://youtu.be/E1ODnGe9LnM
(lab experiment)

https://youtu.be/qIOMlwBoe_4
(lab experiment)

• https://youtu.be/SvtFezYkDxo (overview)
• https://youtu.be/7fiE6wfpxVs (lab experiment
with alkali pipetted out in conical flask and acid
taken in burette)
• https://youtu.be/HC44xjs7dho (lab experiment
with acid pipetted out in conical flask and alkali
taken in burette)
• https://youtu.be/HC44xjs7dho (how to use
pipette)
• https://youtu.be/kkzT7Za59XM (how to use a
burette)
Questions
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6
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10