Supratim Das Chemquest

Acids Bases and Salts

Supratim Das. Chemquest. Durgapur

Study Materials for Foundation Course Class X

Acids and bases can be identified by their taste; acids taste sour and bases taste bitter. Acids are found in
many substances including food items but their presence in fruits is very prominent, e.g., citric acid is
present in citrus fruits such as orange and lemon. Vinegar contains acetic acid. Apart from these, some acids
are widely used in the laboratory, like hydrochloric acid, sulphuric acid and nitric acid.

In general, bases are found in household cleaners to clean grease from windows and floors and also in soaps,
toothpastes, egg whites, dish washing liquids and household ammonia.

Our body contains some very common acids like dilute hydrochloric acid in the stomach, which causes
indigestion of food. If the contents of our stomach become too acidic, we get indigestion and a burning
sensation in the stomach. Acids and bases also regulate metabolic activities in the human body through
equilibrium processes. Bee stings are acidic in nature while wasp stings are alkaline in nature.

All acids generate hydrogen gas on reaction with metals. Hydrogen is common to all acids. In fact all acids
contain hydrogen ions (H+). A base is a substance, which on dissolving in water yields hydroxyl ions (OH-)
as the only negative ions. A base may be an oxide or a hydroxide of a metal. If a base is soluble in water, it
dissociates to form a metal ion and it is the only negative hydroxyl ion (OH-).

 Acids, bases and salts are three main categories of chemical compounds. They have certain definite
properties which distinguish one class from the other.
 The sour taste of many fruits and vegetables, lemon for instance, is due to various types of acids
present in them.
 The digestive fluids of most animals and humans also contain acids. The word 'acid' is derived from
a Latin word, which means "sour".
 The acids we use in the laboratory are very strong acids like hydrochloric acid and sulfuric acid.
Strong acids are corrosive and can burn your skin.
 Bases, on the other hand, are the chemical opposite of acids. They are bitter in taste and soapy to
touch.
 Sea water and detergents are some examples of substances that are basic. Many bases are oxide or
hydroxide compounds of metals.
 Strong bases can also burn one's skin. Tasting a substance is not the right way of finding out if it is
an acid or a base! Acids and bases can be better distinguished with the help of indicators.
 Indicators are substances that undergo a change of colour with a change of acidic, neutral or basic
medium.
 Litmus, a purple dye extracted from the lichen plant, is commonly used as an indicator in
laboratories.
 Acids change the colour of litmus solution to red, and bases change the color of litmus solution to
blue. Turmeric is another common household indicator.
 A stain of turmeric based food spill on a white cloth becomes reddish-brown when soap is scrubbed
on it.
 Soap is basic in nature and changes the colour of the turmeric stain. It turns yellow again when the
cloth is washed with plenty of water.

 Question 1: What is the difference between Bronsted acid and Bronsted Base? Give two
examples of Lewis bases.
 Supratim Das Chemquest
 Question 2: What is the organic acid and organic base? Give two examples of Buffers.

Properties of Acids Bases and Salts

Properties of Acids

 Acid is a compound which yields hydrogen ion (H+), when dissolved in water.
 Acid is sour to the taste and corrosive in nature. The pH value for acids is less than 7.
 Generally, all acids readily react with metal to release hydrogen gas. For example, metal zinc reacts
with hydrochloric acid to form zinc chloride and hydrogen gas.
 Acids react with limestone (CaCO3) to produce carbon dioxide. For example, hydrochloric acid
reacts with limestone to produce carbonic acid and calcium chloride.
 Acids can be classified into organic and inorganic acids. Acetic acid (CH3COOH) is the best
example of organic acid, and acids produced from minerals are termed as inorganic acids like
sulphuric acid (H2SO4), hydrochloric acid (HCl), etc.

On the basis of number of hydrogen ion, acids can be classified as

1. Monoprotic acid – Such type of acids produce one mole of H+ ions per mole of acid, e.g., HCl ,
HNO3, etc.
2. Diprotic acid – They can produce two moles of H+ ions per mole of acid, e.g., H2SO4.
3. Triprotic acid – They produce three moles of H+ ions per mole of acid, e.g., H3PO4.
4. Polyprotic – They can produce more than three H+ ion per mole of acid.

On the basis of strengths or capacity to donate hydrogen ions, acids can be described as:

 Strong acids: Which are completely (100%) ionized in aqueous solutions. Hence at equilibrium, the
concentration of acid molecules is very less and concentration of hydrogen ion reaches to maximum,
e.g., HCl, HNO3, HClO4.

 Weak acids: They are only partially ionized in solution at equilibrium state. At equilibrium state,
acid molecules are present and the concentration of hydrogen ion is less, e.g., HF, CH3COOH.

Properties of bases

 Bases are compounds which yield hydroxide ion (OH-), when dissolved in water.
 Bases are bitter to taste and corrosive in nature. They feel slippery and soapy.
 Bases are good conductor of electricity and show a pH value of more than 7.
 Bases react with oils and grease to form soap molecules.
 Bases convert red litmus paper to blue in color.
 Bases also have the tendency to corrode metal surfaces.
 A reaction between a base and a metal is similar as for acid to form salt and release hydrogen gas.
But this reaction can only occur when a metal is strong enough to displace another metal from its
parent constituent.

2NaOH + Zn → Na2ZnO2 + H2

Strength of bases
 Strong bases: They are completely ionized in water to produce hydroxide ions, e.g, sodium
hydroxide: NaOH(s) ⇌ Na+(aq) + OH-(aq)
 Supratim Das Chemquest
 Weak bases: Partially ionize and equilibrium lies mostly towards reactants side, e.g., ammonia in
water: NH3(aq) + H2O(l) ⇌ NH4+(aq) + OH-(aq)

Arrhenius concept of Acid and bases

Arrhenius concept is the oldest concept to explain acids and bases. According to this concept.

 An acid is a hydrogen containing compound which can give hydrogen ion (H+) in aqueous solution.
For example, Hydrochloric acid (HCl) gives H+ ion in its aqueous solution.

HCl(g) →H+(aq) + Cl-1(aq)

Such types of acids are called Arrhenius acids, like nitric acid (HNO3), acetic acid (CH3COOH), etc.

 Base is also a hydrogen containing compound, which can give hydroxide ion (OH-) in an aqueous
solution. For example, Sodium hydroxide in water form s sodium ion (Na+ ) and hydroxide ion OH-.
Such types of bases are known as Arrhenius bases. Other example of Arrhenius base are ammonium
hydroxide (NH4OH), aluminium hydroxide (Al(OH)3) and magnesium hydroxide(Mg(OH)2).

Properties of salts
 Salts form by the combination of acid and base through neutralization reaction.
 The acidic and basic nature of salts depends on the acid and base combined in neutralization
reaction.

Acid Base Salt Example

Strong Strong Neutral NaOH + HCl → NaCl + H2O
Strong Weak Acidic HCl + NH4OH → NH4Cl + H2O
Weak Strong Basic CH3COOH + NaOH → CH3COONa + H2O
Weak Weak Neutral CH3COOH + NH4OH → CH3COONH4 + H2O

The most common salt is sodium chloride or table salt which forms by the combination of sodium hydroxide
(base) and hydrochloric acid. Other examples include Epsom salts(MgSO4) used in bath salts, ammonium
nitrate (NH4NO3) used as fertilizer, and baking soda (NaHCO3) used in cooking.

The pH of a salt solution depends on the strength of acids and bases combined in the neutralization
reaction.
Acid Base Salt pH
strong strong pH=7
weak strong pH>7
strong weak pH<7
weak weak depends on which is stronger

Acids form hydrogen ions (H+) in aqueous solution. In place of hydrogen ions, it’s better to write hydronium
ions (H3O+) which form due to reaction of H+ with water. For example, Hydrochloric acid (HCl) in water.
HCl + H2O → H3O+ + Cl-
At the same time bases are the substances that produce hydroxide ion OH- in water. Acids and bases react
with one another to yield two products: water, and an ionic compound known as salt. The reaction is called
as neutralization reaction.
NaOH + HCl → H2O + Na+Cl–
 Supratim Das Chemquest
Neutralization reactions are always exothermic in nature, which means they liberate the same amount of
heat. This amount is fixed for any acid and base that is 57.7kJ per mole of H+. For any acid and base
combination the net reaction is
H+(aq) + OH- (aq) →H2O
Because salt produced in neutralization reaction is ionic in nature and exists in the form of ions just before
the reaction. Hence salts are the main products of a neutralization reaction.

Bases and acids neutralize each other, therefore, another way to define a base is, "a compound which
reacts with an acid to give salt and water only." Like acids, alkalis can be strong or weak. The more
hydroxide ions they produce, the stronger the alkali is.

The acidic property of an acid is due to the presence of hydrogen ions (H+) while that of a base or
alkali is due to the presence of hydroxyl (OH-) ions in them. When strong acids and bases (alkali)
combine, the positively charged hydrogen ion of the acid combines with the negatively charged hydroxyl ion
of the base to form a molecule of water. Hence, the water molecule formed does not have any charge
because the positive and negative charges of the hydrogen ions and hydroxyl ions get neutralized.
H+(aq) + OH-(aq) →H2O(l)
Neutralization can be viewed as a reaction in which an acid combines with a base, neutralizing the positively
charged hydrogen ion and the negatively charged hydroxyl ion, to form a molecule of water and the
respective salt.

List of Acids Bases and Salts

These are some examples of acids and bases:

Example of Molecular Molecular Examples of Molecular

Examples of base
acid formula formula salts formula
Lithium Sodium
H2SO4 Sulphuric acid LiOH NaCl
hydroxide chloride
Sodium Ammonium
HI Hydroiodic acid NaOH NH4Cl
hydroxide chloride
Potassium Ammonium
HBr Hydrobromic KOH CH3COONH4
hydroxide acetate
acid
Rubidium Copper
HNO3 Nitric acid RbOH CuSO4
hydroxide sulphate
Hydrofluoric Barium Magnesium
HF Ba(OH)2 MgSO4
acid hydroxide sulphate
Hydrochloric Calcium Sodium
HCl Ca(OH)2 Na2SO4
acid hydroxide sulphate
Ammonium Sodium
HClO4 Perchloric acid NH4OH Na2CO3
hydroxide carbonate
Strontium Sodium
CH3COOH Acetic acid Sr(OH)2 NaHCO3
hydroxide bicarbonate
Ferrous Hydroxide or Calcium
H2CO3 Carbonic acid Fe(OH)2 CaCO3
Iron (II) Hydroxide carbonate
Hydrosulphuric Ferric Hydroxide or Potassium
H2S Fe(OH)3 K2CO3
acid Iron (III) Hydroxide carbonate
Sulphurous Potassium
H2SO3 Zinc Hydroxide Zn(OH)2 K2SO4
Acid sulphate
 Supratim Das Chemquest
Phosphoric Calcium
H3PO4 Caesium hydroxide CsOH CaCl2
Acid chloride
Phosphorous Potassium
H3PO3 KCl
Acid chloride

Concentration of H+ and pH Scale:

This is a scale that runs from 0 to 14. Substances with a pH below 7 are acidic. Substances with pH above 7
are basic. And those with pH 7 are neutral.

Indicators:

Indicators are substances that identify acidity or alkalinity of substances. They cannot be used in solid form.

Universal Indicator:

This is a substance that changes color when added to another substance depending on its pH. The indicator
and the substance should be in aqueous form.

Litmus Paper or Solution:

This indicator is present in two colors: red and blue. We use blue litmus if we want test a substance for
acidity. We use red litmus if we want to test a substance for alkalinity. Its results are:

 Acids: Turns blue litmus paper/ solution red,

 Bases: Turns red litmus paper/ solution blue,
 Neutral: if it is used as paper the color doesn’t change. If it is used as solution it turns purple.

Phenolphthalein:

This is an indicator that is used to test for alkalinity because it is colorless if used with an acidic or neutral
substance and it is pink if it is used with a basic substance.

Methyl Orange:

This indicator gives fire colours: Red with acids, yellow with neutrals and orange with bases.

Acids:

Acids are substances made of a hydrogen ion and non-metal ions. They have the following properties:

 They dissolve in water producing a hydrogen ion H+,

 They have a sour taste,
 Strong ones are corrosive,
 Their pH is less than 7.

All acids must be in aqueous form to be called an acid. For example Hydrochloric acid is hydrogen chloride
gas dissolved in water. The most common acids are:

 Hydrochloric acid HCl, Sulphuric Acid H2SO4, Nitric Acid HNO3,

 Oxalic Acid, Formic acid and Carbonic Acid H2CO3.
 Supratim Das Chemquest
Question 3: What is the difference between Arrhenius acid and Bronsted acid? Give two examples of
Bronsted bases.

Question 4: What is the Lewis acid and Lewis base? Give two examples of Lewis bases.

Strength of Acids:
One of the most important properties of acids is that it gives hydrogen ion H+ when dissolved in water. This
is why the amount of H+ ions the acid can give when dissolved in water is what determines its strength. This
is called ionization or dissociation. The more ionized the acid is the stronger it is, the lower its pH. The more
H+ ions given when the acid is dissolved in water the more ionized the acid is.

Strong Acids: Weak Acids:

Have pH’s: 0,1,2,3 Have pH’s: 4,5,6

Vs
They are fully ionized They are partially ionized
When dissolved in water, When dissolved in water,
they give large amounts of they give small amounts of
H+ ions Examples: H+ ions Examples:
Hydrochloric Acid Ethanoic acid
Sulfuric Acid (CH3COOH)
Nitric Acid Citric Acid
Carbonic Acid

Hydrochloric acid is a strong acid. When it is dissolved in water all HCl molecules are ionized into H+ and
Cl- ions. It is fully ionized and Degree of Ionization is nearly 1.

Ethanoic acid has the formula CH3COOH. It is a weak acid. When it is dissolved in water, only some of the
CH3COOH molecules are ionized into CH3COO- and H+ ions. It is partially ionized and and Degree of
Ionization is less than 1

Solutions of strong acids are better conductors of electricity than solutions of weak acids. This is because
they contain much more free mobile ions to carry the charge.

Bases:
Bases are substances made of hydroxide OH- ions and a metal. Bases can be made of:

 Metal hydroxide (metal ion & OH- ion)

 Metal carbonates (metal ion & CO32-) and Metal hydrogen carbonate (Bicarbonate)
 Ammonium hydroxide (NH4OH) and Ammonium Carbonate ((NH4)2CO3)

Properties of bases:

 Bitter taste and Soapy feel

 Have pH’s above 7 and Strong ones are corrosive

Some bases are water soluble and some bases are water insoluble. Water soluble bases are also called
alkalis. Like acids, alkalis' strength is determined by its ability to be ionized into metal and hydroxide OH-
ions. Completely ionized alkalis are the strongest and partially ionized alkalis are the weakest.
 Supratim Das Chemquest
Question 5: What is degree of ionization? Give two examples of weak acids and strong acids.

Question 6: What is the relation between concentration of H+ ions and pH of the solution? Give two
examples of Amphiprotic substances.