Acids, Bases, pH and pOH

They are everywhere..

In your food
In your house
EVEN IN YOU!!!!!
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 I Can …
 Explain the pH scale in terms of
hydrogen ion concentration
 Explain the pH scale in terms of
hydroxide ion concentration
 Explain the pH scale in terms of acidity
 Explain the pH scale in terms of basicity

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 An acid is…

 An aqueous solution that has H+ ions.

 The more H+ ions, the more acidic
the solution.
 Examples of acids: HCl (H+ and Cl-),
HNO3 (H+ and NO3-)

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 Properties of an Acid

 Tastes Sour
 Corrosive
 Turns blue
litmus paper red

Picture from BBC Revision Bites

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/ks3bitesize/science/chemistry/acids_b
ases_1.shtml
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 Some Common Acids
 Vinegar
 Citrus fruits (lemons,
limes, & oranges
 Ascorbic acid =
Vitamin C which your
body needs to
function.
 Car batteries

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 A Base is ..
 An aqueous solution
that has OH- ions.
 Base = alkaline
 Examples of Bases:
NaOH (Na+ and OH-),
Ca(OH)2 (Ca+2 and
OH-)

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 Properties of Bases

 Feel Slippery
 Taste Bitter
 Corrosive
 Turns red litmus
paper blue.

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 pH Scale
 pH is a measure of how acidic
or basic a solution is.
Ranges from 0 to 14.
 Acidic solutions - pH below 7
 pH of 7 is neutral.
Pure water has a pH of
7
Basic solutions - pH above 7.

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 pH Scale
• A change of 1 pH unit
represents a tenfold
(x10) change in the
acidity of the solution.
• Tomato – pH 4
• Lemon - pH 2
• Lemons are 100 times
more acidic than
tomatoes

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 Acid – Base Reactions

 A reaction
between an acid
and a base is
called
neutralization.

 The result of a
“perfect”
neutralization
reaction is a
solution with a pH
of 7
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 Acid – Base reactions
HCl + NaOH  NaCl + H2O

o The products of an acid base

reaction are a salt and water

o This is a type of double replacement

reaction

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 ACID NOMENCLATURE
Anion
Ending Acid Name
No Oxygen -ide hydro-(stem)-ic acid
In acid
-ate (stem)-ic acid
w/Oxygen
-ite (stem)-ous acid
An easy way to remember which goes with which…
“You ATE something ICky, and you bITE something
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deliciOUS”
 EXAMPLES: MEMORIZE
THESE FOUR ACIDS – NAMES
AND CHEMICAL FORMULAS
• HCl hydrochloric acid
• H2SO4 sulfuric
• HNO3 nitric
• H3PO4 phosphoric

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•For simplicity you will use 3
significant figures for pH, pOH,
[H+] and [OH-] calculations

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 CALCULATING THE PH OR
POH
pH = - log [H+]
pOH = - log [OH-]
(The brackets [ ] mean concentration or Molarity)
Example: If [H+] = 1.00 X 10-10 M, what is the pH?
pH = - log (1 X 10-10)
pH = 10.0
Example: If [OH-] = 1.80 X 10-5 M ,what is the pOH?
pOH = - log 1.80 X 10-5
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pOH = 4.74
 PH = - LOG [H+]
Find the pH of these:
1) [H+] = 1.25 x 10-3 M
a. pH = 2.90
2) A 0.15 M solution of hydrochloric acid
(acids have H+ ion)
b. pH = 0.824
3) A 3.00 X 10-7 M solution of nitric acid
c. pH = 6.52
 POH = - LOG [OH-]
Find the pOH of these:
1) [OH-] = 2.15 x 10-3
a. pOH = 2.67
2) A 0.350 M solution of NaOH
(bases have OH- ion)
b. pOH = 0.456
3) A 3.00 X 10-7 M solution of
potassium hydroxide
c. pOH = 6.52
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CALCULATING THE POH OR PH
WHEN YOU KNOW THE OTHER ONE
• Since acids and bases are opposites,
pH and pOH are opposites!

If pH = 1, then pOH = 13

Since pH and pOH are on opposite

ends,
pH + pOH = 14 19
 PH
P H AND POH
AND P OH CALCULATIONS
CALCULATIONS
SOLVING
SOLVING FOR
FOR [H
[H++]] AND
AND [OH
[OH--]]

If the pH of Coke is 3.12, [H+] = ???

Because pH = - log [H+] then
[H+] = antilog-pH
[H+] = 10-pH
[H+] = 10-3.12 = 7.59 x 10-4 M
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 POH CALCULATIONS –
SOLVING FOR [OH-]

If the pOH of soap is 8.9, what

is the [OH-]?
[OH-] = 10-pOH
[OH-] = 10-8.9 =
1.26 x 10-9

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 [H+], [OH-] AND KW
We can also use Kw (water constant)
Kw = 1 x 10-14
Kw = [H+] [OH-] , so

[H+] [OH-] = 1 x 10-14

What is the [H+] of a solution that
has an [OH-] = 4.20 x 10-5 ?
2.38 x 10-10 22
Examples:
1. What is the pH of a 1.70 x 10-5 M solution of
HCl?
a. pH = 4.77

2. What is the pOH of a .0320M solution of NaOH?

a. pH = 1.49

3. A solution has a pH of 6.40, what is the [H+]?

b. 3.98 x 10-7 M

4. What is the pOH of a solution with a pH of 4.50?

a. pH = 9.50

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5. What is the [H+] of a 1.6 x 10-9 M
solution of NaOH?
[OH-] = 1.6 x 10-9 M
1.0 x 10-14
1.6 x 10-9 = [H+] = 6.3 x 10-6 M

6. What is the [H+], [OH-], and pOH

of a solution with pH = 3.67?
pOH = 10.33
[H+] = 2.14 x 10-4 M 24

[OH-] = 4.68 x 10-11 M

 PH TESTING
• There are several ways to test pH
• Blue litmus paper (red = acid)
• Red litmus paper (blue = basic)
• pH paper (multi-colored)
• pH meter (7 is neutral, <7 acid, >7
base)
• Indicators like phenolphthalein –
we will use this

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