Andrew Voyles

IB Chemistry Assessment Statements: Topic 8: Acids and Bases

Topic 18: Acids and Bases

8.1.1: According to the Bronsted-Lowry theory, acids are defined as

proton (H+ ion) donors and bases are defined as proton acceptors.

8.1.2: For a compound to act as a Bronsted-Lowry (BL) acid, it must

have a hydrogen atom in it, which it is capable of losing while
remaining fairly stable. A BL base must be capable of accepting a
hydrogen ion while remaining relatively stable (or reacting to form
stable compounds, i.e. a water and a salt).
Some compounds (such as water) may act as both a BL acid and a BL
base i.e. (H2O-> OH- or H3O+)
8.1.3: The conjugate base will always have one less H atom that the
acid and the acid one more than the base. In compounds where there
are many hydrogen atoms, the one which is held the weakest is
generally the one which is lost, and this must be reflected in the
writing of the compound, as in the CH3COOH example below.
CH3COOH (Acid)/ CH3COO- (Conjugate Base)
NH3 (Base) / NH4+ (Conjugate Acid)

8.2.1: Acids are electrolytes, and have a sour taste, although one
should never taste them for identification purposes. They undergo
single replacement reactions with metals to form a salt and hydrogen
gas, and neutralization reactions with bases to form salts and water. A
strip of litmus paper dipped in an acid will change from blue to red, and
an acid will turn phenolphthalein colorless.

Bases are also electrolytes, and have a bitter taste, although one
should never taste them for identification purposes. A strip of litmus
paper dipped in a base will change from red to blue, and a base will
turn phenolphthalein red. They are also slippery to the touch and
undergo neutralization reactions with acids to form salts and water.

8.3.1: Strong and weak acids and bases are defined by their ease of
losing (or donating) a proton or hydroxide ion, respectively. A strong
acid or base, when placed in water, will almost fully ionize/dissociate,
producing H3O+ or hydroxide ions from water. A weak acid or base will,
however, only partially do this, leaving some unreacted acid or base
remaining. This is set up as an equilibrium, and so when some of the
H3O+ ions produced by a weak acid are reacted, Le Chatlier’s means
that more of the acid will react to form H3O- ions. This means that,
given an equal number of mols of acid, they will be neutralized by the
same amount of strong base, but their solutions will have different pH
values. A weak base is the same as this, only it accepts protons and so
produces OH- ions from water rather than H3O-. Any solution’s ability to
conduct electricity is defined by is charges ions in it. A strong acid will
produce more charged ions than a weak one, and so it’s solution will be
a better electrical conductor than a weak acid. The same goes for
strong/weak bases.

8.3.2: The strong acids are: HCl (hydrochloric), H2SO4 (sulfuric), HNO3
(nitric), and HClO4 (perchloric). All other acids are weak acids.

The strong bases are the hydroxides of the group 1 metals, and
Ba(OH)2. All other bases are weak.

8.3.3: Strong acids and bases are those which disassociate completely
or almost completely in aqueous solution. The strength of an acid or
base can be measured with a universal indicator or a pH meter. Also
the rate of reaction measured by hydrogen production with metals or
CO2 with CaCO3 will reveal the strength of an acid.

8.4.1: pH vales range up and down from 7 (7 being the neutral value of
pure water at 20 ºC and 1 atm). Lower pH values are acidic, higher
values are basic.

8.4.2: For two acidic solutions, the solution with the lower pH is more
acidic. For two basic solutions, the solution with the higher pH is more
basic.

8.4.3: A change of 1 in the pH scale represents a 10 times change in

the acidity or alkalinity of the solution, due to the fact that the scale is
logarithmic, of base 10.

8.4.4: The factor by which the pH changes is equal to 10ΔpH. If the pH

increases by two units, then the solution is more alkaline by a factor of
102, 100 (or 1/100 as acidic). If the pH decreases by three units, then the
solution is more acidic by a factor of 103, 1000 (or 1/1000 as alkaline).
18.1.1: Kw=[H+][OH-]. The value of Kw is 1 x 10-14 at 25c, but varies
with temperature.

18.1.4: n general HA(aq) <=> H+(aq) + A-(aq) or B(aq) + H2O(l) <=> BH+ +
OH-(aq).
Therefore Ka = [H+][A-]/[HA] and Kb = [BH+][OH-] / [B]

18.1.6: The larger an acid’s Ka or the lower its pKa, the stronger it is.
The larger a base’s Kb or the lower its pKb, the stronger it is.

18.2.1: A buffer solution is composed of a weak acid/base and it's

conjugate base/acid. A solution of weak acid is made, and this forms a
equilibrium with the water: HA + H2O <=> A- + H3O+.
To this solution, some of the acid's conjugate base (A-) is added,
resulting in an increase in the concentration of A-. Some of this reacts
with the H3O+.
The result of this is, when equilibrium is re-established, there is a
considerable amount of both HA and A- present in the solution, in an
dynamic equilibrium. If some other acid is added, this will react with
the A-, but this causes the equilibrium to shift to the right, almost
completely counteracting any pH change. The addition of a base,
which reacts with the HA, cause the equilibrium to be shifted to the
left, again resulting in very little pH change. This continues until one of
the two components, either HA or A- are completely used up, at which
time the pH then changes normally.
The reverse of this is true for bases.

18.2.2: The pH of a buffer solution can be found via the following

expression
Ka = [H+][A-] / [HA] ). This expression can first be rearranged to [H+] = Ka x
[HA]
/[A-]. Given the concentration of both the Acid and its conjugate base,
and the Ka value of the acid, the concentration of H+ can be calculated
and this can be converted into a value for pH.

18.3.1: The salt of a strong acid and a strong base will be neutral when
dissolved in aqueous solution. The salt of a weak acid and a strong
base will be basic when dissolved in aqueous solution. The salt of a
strong acid and a weak base will be acidic when dissolved in aqueous
solution. The pH of a salt of a weak acid and a weak base will depend
on the relative values of Ka and Kb.
18.4.1:

18.5.1: HIn H+ + In-

HIn and In are different colors, so based on whether the solution
-

containing the indicator solution is acidic or basic, one color will be

present.

18.5.2: The pH range of the indicator falls around its pKa value, so to be
useful, the pKa must fall within the vertical asymptote at the
equivalence point of the titration curve.

18.5.3: Methyl orange: 3.2–4.4

Bromocresol green:3.8–5.4 Methyl red: 4.8–6.0
Bromothymol blue: 6.0–7.6
Phenol red: 6.6–8.0
Phenolphthalein: 8.2–10.0