Properties of Acids and Bases

Acids taste sour. Bases taste bitter and feel slippery. Acids and bases are conductors of electricity. Acids and bases can be identified by their reactions with some metals and metal carbonates.

Properties of Acids and Bases (cont.)

Acids turn blue litmus red. Bases turn red litmus blue. Magnesium and zinc react with acids to produce hydrogen gas. Geologists identify limestone because it produces bubbles of carbon dioxide when exposed to hydrochloric acid.

Properties of Acids and Bases (cont.)

All water solutions contain hydrogen ions (H+) and hydroxide ions (OH).

An acidic solution contains more hydrogen ions than hydroxide ions.

A basic solution contains more hydroxide ions than hydrogen ions.

Properties of Acids and Bases (cont.)

The usual solvent for acids and bases is waterwater produces equal numbers of hydrogen and hydroxide ions in a process called self-ionization. H2O(l) + H2O(l) H3O+(aq) + OH(aq) The hydronium ion is H3O+.

The Arrhenius Model

The Arrhenius model states that an acid is a substance that contains hydrogen and ionizes to produce hydrogen ions in aqueous solution, and a base is a substance that contains a hydroxide group and dissociates to produce a hydroxide ion in solution.

The Arrhenius Model (cont.)

Arrhenius acids and bases
HCl ionizes to produce H+ ions.

HCl(g) H+(aq) + Cl(aq)

NaOH dissociates to produce OH ions. NaOH(s) Na+(aq) + OH(aq) Some solutions produce hydroxide ions even though they do not contain a hydroxide group.

The Brnsted-Lowry Model

The Brnsted-Lowry Model of acids and bases states that an acid is a hydrogen ion donor, and a base is a hydrogen ion acceptor. The Brnsted-Lowry Model is a more inclusive model of acids and bases.

The Brnsted-Lowry Model (cont.)

A conjugate acid is the species produced when a base accepts a hydrogen ion.

A conjugate base is the species produced when an acid donates a hydrogen ion.
A conjugate acid-base pair consists of two substances related to each other by donating and accepting a single hydrogen ion.

The Brnsted-Lowry Model (cont.)

Hydrogen fluoridea Brnsted-Lowry acid
HF(aq) + H2O(l) H3O+(aq) + F(aq)

HF = acid, H2O = base, H3O+ = conjugate acid, F = conjugate base

The Brnsted-Lowry Model (cont.)

Ammonia Brnsted-Lowry base
NH3(aq) + H2O(l) NH4+(aq) + OH(aq)

NH3 = base, H2O(l) = acid, NH4+ = conjugate acid, OH = conjugate base

Water and other substances that can act as acids or bases are called amphoteric.

Monoprotic and Polyprotic Acids

An acid that can donate only one hydrogen ion is a monoprotic acid.

Only ionizable hydrogen atoms can be donated.

Monoprotic and Polyprotic Acids (cont.)

Acids that can donate more than one hydrogen ion are polyprotic acids.

Strengths of Acids
Acids that ionize completely are strong acids.

Because they produce the maximum number of hydrogen ions, strong acids are good conductors of electricity.
HCl HBr HI HClO4 H2SO4 (first H) HNO3

Strengths of Acids (cont.)

Acids that ionize only partially in dilute aqueous solutions are called weak acids.

Strengths of Acids (cont.)

With a strong acid, the conjugate base is a weak base.

Equilibrium lies almost completely to the right in the equation because the conjugate base has a weaker attraction for the H+ ion than does the base in the forward reaction. In a weak acid, the ionization equilibrium lies to the far left in the ionization equation because the conjugate base has a greater attraction for H+ ions than does the base in the forward reaction.

Strong acid

Weak acid

Strengths of Acids (cont.)

The acid ionization constant is the value of the equilibrium constant expression for the ionization of a weak acid, Ka.

Ka indicates whether products or reactants are favored at equilibrium.

Generic equation: HA H+ + A-

Strengths of Acids (cont.)

For weak acids, the products tend to be smaller compared to the un-ionized molecules (reactant).

Weaker acids have a smaller Ka.

Strengths of Bases
A base that dissociates completely into metal ions and hydroxide ions is known as a strong base.

A weak base ionizes only partially in dilute aqueous solution.

Strengths of Bases (cont.)

The base ionization constant, Kb, is the value of the equilibrium constant expression for the ionization of a base.

Generic equation: A + H2O HA+ + OH-

Ion Product Constant for Water

Pure water contains equal concentrations of H+ and OH ions.

The ion production of water, Kw = [H+][OH].

The ion product constant for water is the value of the equilibrium constant expression for the self-ionization of water.

Ion Product Constant for Water (cont.)

With pure water at 398 K, both [H+] and [OH] are equal to 1.0 107M.

Kw at 298 K = 1.0 1014

Kw and LeChteliers Principle proves [H+] [OH] must equal 1.0 1014 at 298 K, and as [H+] goes up, [OH] must go down.

pH and pOH
Concentrations of H+ ions are often small numbers expressed in exponential notation.

pH is the negative logarithm of the hydrogen ion concentration of a solution. pH = log [H+]

pH and pOH (cont.)

pOH of a solution is the negative logarithm of the hydroxide ion concentration.

pOH = log [OH]

The sum of pH and pOH equals 14.

pH and pOH (cont.)

For all strong monoprotic acids, the concentration of the acid is the concentration of H+ ions. For all strong bases, the concentration of the OH ions available is the concentration of OH.

Weak acids and weak bases only partially ionize and Ka and Kb values must be used.

Strengths of Acids: Practice Problem

What is the pH of a 0.50 M hydrocyanic acid solution?

Strengths of Acids: Practice Problem

A 0.128 M solution of uric acid (HC5H3N4O3) has a pH of 2.39. Calculate the Ka of uric acid.

Strengths of Bases: Practice Problem

What is [H+] of 0.427M analine?

Strengths of Acids: Practice Problem

A 0.0135 M solution of a weak base has a pH of 8.39. Calculate the Kb for this weak base..

Reactions Between Acids and Bases

A neutralization reaction is a reaction in which an acid and a base in an aqueous solution react to produce a salt and water. A salt is an ionic compound made up of a cation from a base and an anion from an acid.

Neutralization is a double-replacement reaction.

Reactions Between Acids and Bases (cont.)

Reactions Between Acids and Bases (cont.)

Titration is a method for determining the concentration of a solution by reacting a known volume of that solution with a solution of known concentration.

Reactions Between Acids and Bases (cont.)

In a titration procedure, a measured volume of an acid or base of unknown concentration is placed in a beaker, and initial pH recorded. A buret is filled with the titrating solution of known concentration, called a titrant.

Reactions Between Acids and Bases (cont.)

Measured volumes of the standard solution are added slowly and mixed into the solution in the beaker, and the pH is read and recorded after each addition. The process continues until the reaction reaches the equivalence point, which is the point at which moles of H+ ion from the acid equals moles of OH ion from the base. An abrupt change in pH occurs at the equivalence point.

Reactions Between Acids and Bases (cont.)

Reactions Between Acids and Bases (cont.)

Chemical dyes whose color are affected by acidic and basic solutions are called acidbase indicators.

Reactions Between Acids and Bases (cont.)

An end point is the point at which an indicator used in a titration changes color.

An indicator will change color at the equivalence point.

Buffered Solutions
The pH of blood must be kept in within a narrow range.

Buffers are solutions that resist changes in pH when limited amounts of acid or base are added.

Buffered Solutions (cont.)

Ions and molecules in a buffer solution resist changes in pH by reacting with any hydrogen ions of hydroxide ions added to the buffered solution. HF(aq) H+(aq) + F(aq) When acid is added, the equilibrium shifts to the left.

Buffered Solutions (cont.)

Additional H+ ions react with F ions to form undissociated HF molecules but the pH changes little. The amount of acid or base that a buffer solution can absorb without a significant change in pH is called the buffer capacity.

Buffered Solutions (cont.)

A buffer is most effective when the concentrations of the conjugate acid-base pair are equal or nearly equal.