Indigestion, headaches and neutralisation - Excess acid in our stomach causes indigestion, which can be painful and eventually give rise to ulcers. To erase this, we can take antacid treatment. Antacids are a group of compounds with no toxic effects on body. They are used to neutralise the effect of acid indigestion. - Some antacid tablets also contain a painkiller to relieve headaches. Vitamin C can also be added to the tablet. Soil pH and plant growth - Farmers treat the soil with base quicklime (calcium oxide) after acid rain. Sting Bite - Bee stings are acidic in nature. So we use baking soda to neutralise the effect - Wasp stings are basic in nature. So vinegar can be used to neutralise the effect
The test for carbonates using acid
- All carbonates react with acids to give off carbon dioxide. - A piece of rock that we think is limestone can be checked by dripping a few drops of vinegar on it. If it ‘fizzes’ then it could be limestone. - Another test is by adding hydrochloric acid to the powdered substance. Any gas given off would be passed into limestone to see if it went cloudy. - If the limestone turns cloudy, the gas is carbon dioxide and the substance is a carbonate. Test for metal ions in salts using alkalis - All salts are ionic compounds . - They are made up of a positive ion, combined with a negative nonmetal ion. - Thus, common salt, sodium chloride is made up of sodium metal ions (Na+ ions) and chloride non-metal ions (Cl- ions) - Most metals hydroxides are insoluble. By adding an alkali to a solution of the unknown salt we can begin to identify the salt. Coloured hydroxide precipitates - Some of the hydroxide precipitates are coloured. As a result , a solution of a salt can be tested by adding an alkali to it and checking the colour of the precipitate. - Copper (II) salts give a light blue precipitate of copper (II) hydroxide. - Iron (II) salts give a green precipitate of iron (II) hydroxide. - Iron (III) salts give a red-brown precipitate of iron(III) hydroxide. - Chromium (III) salts give a grey-green precipitate of chromium (III) hydroxide. - For example:- - iron(II) sulfate + sodium hydroxide → iron (II) hydroxide + sodium sulfate White hydroxide precipitate - Certain hydroxide precipitates are white. - They are the hydroxides of calcium, zinc and aluminium. - The addition of sodium hydroxide to a solution of a salt of these metals produces a white precipitate in each case. - When an excess of sodium hydroxide is added, the zinc and aluminium hydroxide precipitates re-dissolves to give colourless solutions. - The calcium hydroxide precipitate does not re-dissolve. - To identify a zinc or aluminium salt, the test needs to be repeated with ammonia solution. - The same white precipitates of zinc or aluminium hydroxide are produced. - However, with excess ammonia solution it is only the zinc hydroxide precipitate that re-dissolves, not the aluminium. - Therefore, we can tell the two apart using ammonia solution. The test for ammonium salts using alkalis - Ammonium salts are important as fertilisers. - For example, ammonium nitrate and ammonium sulfate are used extensively as fertilisers. - These are industrially important chemicals made by reacting ammonia with nitric acid or sulfuric acid, respectively . - They are salts containing ammonium ions, Nh4+ ions. - These salts react with alkali solutions to produce ammonia gas, which can be detected because it turns damp red litmus paper blue. - This reaction occurs because ammonia is a more volatile base than sodium hydroxide. - Ammonia is therefore easily displaced from its salts by sodium hydroxide. - The reaction can be used to test an unknown substance for ammonium ions. - It can be used to prepare ammonia in the laboratory.