Acids and Bases

Acids
An acid is a substance that produces
hydrogen ions, H+ when it is dissolved in
water.
The hydrogen ions that are produced in
water are responsible for the properties of
acids.

Name of the acid

Formula

hydrochloric acid
sulfuric acid
nitric acid
ethanoic acid

HCl
H2SO4
HNO3
CH3COOH

Ions produced in
water
H+(aq), Cl(aq)
H+(aq), SO42(aq)
H+(aq), NO3(aq)
H+(aq), CH3COO(aq)

Properties of acids
Solutions of acids in water have the following
general properties.
Acids have a sour taste.
Acids turn moist blue litmus red.
Solutions of acid in water conduct
electricity.

 Acids react with reactive metals to form

hydrogen gas and a salt
The general equation for this formula is,
metal + acid
salt + hydrogen gas
For example,
Zn(s) + 2HCl(aq)

ZnCl2(aq) + H2(g)

 Acids react with carbonates to form a salt,

carbon dioxide and water.
This reaction is represented by the general equation,
carbonate + acid
For example,
CaCO3(s) + 2HCl(aq)

salt + water + carbon dioxide

CaCl2(aq) + H2O(l) + CO2(g)

 Acids react with bases like metal oxides

and hydroxides to form a salt and water
only.
The general equations for these reactions may be
written as,
metal oxide + acid
salt + water
metal hydroxide + acid
salt + water
For example,
CuO(s) + H2SO4(aq)
Cu(OH)2(s) + 2HNO3(aq)

CuSO4(aq) + H2O(l)
Cu(NO3)2(aq) + 2H2O(l)

Bases
A base is any
metal oxide containing oxide ions, O2
or a metal hydroxide containing
hydroxide ions, OH

Name of the base

sodium oxide
copper(II) oxide
magnesium hydroxide
sodium hydroxide

Formula
Na2O
CuO
Mg(OH)2
NaOH

Ions involved
Na+, O2
Cu2+, O2
Mg2+, OH
Na+, OH

Properties of bases
Neutralisation:
A base reacts with an acid to produce a
salt and water only. This reaction is
known as neutralisation.

 Neutralisation reactions can be represented

by the general equation,
base + acid

salt + water

For example,
(i) zinc oxide + sulphuric acid
zinc sulphate + water
ZnO(s) + H2SO4(aq)
ZnSO4(aq) + H2O(l)
When represented as an ionic equation,
ZnO(s) + 2H+(aq)
Zn2+(aq) + H2O(l)
(ii) magnesium hydroxide + nitric acid
magnesium + water
nitrate
Mg(OH)2(s) + 2HNO3(aq)
Mg(NO3)2(aq) + 2H2O(l)

The ionic equation for this reaction is,

OH(aq) + H+(aq)

H2O(l)

Hence, in the reaction between acids and

bases, the oxide ions and hydroxide
ions from the bases react with the
hydrogen ions from the acids to form
water.

Alkalis
Alkalis are a special class of bases which
can dissolve in water to produce ions, OH
An example of soluble base is sodium oxide
which dissolves in water to give sodium
hydroxide.
Na2O(s) + H2O(l)

2NaOH(aq)

Examples of alkalis are

NaOH, KOH, Ba(OH)2, Ca(OH)2 and aqueous NH3(ammonia)

Properties of alkalis
Alkalis have a bitter taste and soapy feel.
Alkalis turn moist red litmus paper blue
Alkalis produce hydroxide ions in water.
NaOH(aq)

Na+(aq) + OH (aq)

 An important reaction of alkalis is the

neutralisation reaction. Since alkalis are
bases, they react with acids to give salt
and water only.
This reaction can be represented by the
general equation,
alkali + acid

salt + water

(base)
For example,
NaOH(aq) + HCl(aq)
NaCl(aq) + H2O(l)
The ionic equation for this reaction is,
OH(aq) + H+(aq)

H2O(l)

 Alkalis react with ammonium salts to

produce salt, water and ammonia gas.
The general equation for this reaction is
alkali + ammonium salt
For example,
NaOH(aq) + NH4Cl(s)
The ionic equation is,
(OH)(aq) + (NH4)+(aq)

ammonia + water + salt

NaCl(aq) + H2O(l) + NH3(g)

NH3(g) + H2O(l)

pH scale and the universal indicator

The pH scale is a set of numbers that is
used to indicate the concentration of
hydrogen ions in a solution.
The pH scale has a range of 0 to 14.
The pH of a solution depends on the
number of hydrogen ions or hydroxide ions
present in the solution.
The lower the pH value, the higher is the
concentration of hydrogen ions present in
the solution, which means it is more
acidic.

acids

alkalis

neutral
solutions

pH value
less than 7

Examples
hydrochloric acid, sulphuric acid,
nitric acid, ethanoic acid
(vinegar), lime juice, fizzy drinks
etc
more than 7 sodium hydroxide, potassium
hydroxide, aqueous ammonia,
soaps, detergents, tooth paste
etc
exactly 7
pure water

Universal indicator
The pH value of a colourless solution can
be measured using the Universal
Indicator which is a mixture of dyes.
Solutions of different pH produce different
colours when tested with the Universal
Indicator. Thus, pH can be used for
comparing acids and alkalis of the same
concentration

 Other indicators which change colour in

acid and alkaline solutions are used in
titrations.
Some examples are
Indicator

Colour in Colour in
acidic
alkaline
solutions solutions

methyl orange
red
phenolphthalein colourless
litmus
red

yellow
pink
blue

pH range at
which the
colour
canges
35
8 10
58

The importance of pH in soils

The pH of the soil is very important
because it affects the growth of plants.
Most of the plants grow best when the pH
of the soil is neutral or slightly acidic,
about pH 6 to 7.
Plants do not grow if the soil is too acidic
(below pH 5) or too alkaline (above pH 9).

Reasons for the high acidity of

the soil
Soil can become more acidic if too much
fertiliser is used.
Acid rain also contributes to the acidity of
the soil.

Controlling the acidity of soil

When the soil is too acidic, bases such as
calcium hydroxide (slaked lime) or
calcium oxide (quicklime) can be added
to the soil to reduce the acidity. This is
known as liming the soil.
The bases react with the acids in the soil
and increase the soil pH by neutralising
the acids.

 For example, when CaO (Lime) is used,

the ionic equation for the reaction is,
CaO(s) + 2H+(aq)

Ca2+(aq) + H2O(l)

Types of oxides
An oxide is formed when an element
combines with oxygen. Oxides can be
classified as four types depending on
their properties

(i) Acidic oxides

Oxides of non-metals such as carbon,
sulphur, nitrogen and phosphorous, are
acidic oxides.
Acidic oxides are usually soluble in water
to produce an acid.

 For example, sulfur dioxide dissolves easily in

water to form sulfurous acid.
sulfur dioxide + water
SO2(g) + H2O(l)
Similarly, CO2(g) + H2O(l)

sulfurous acid
H2SO3(aq)
H2CO3(aq) (carbonic acid)

Acidic oxides do not react with acids.

Acidic oxides react with alkalis to form salt
and water.
For example,
carbon dioxide+ calcium hydroxide
CO2(g) + Ca(OH)2(aq)

calcium + water
carbonate
CaCO3(s) + H2O(l)

Acidic oxide

Formula Physical
Acid formed
state
when dissolved
in water
sulfur dioxide
SO2
gas
sulfurous acid,
H2SO3
sulfur trioxide
SO3
gas
sulfuric acid,
H2SO4
carbon dioxide
CO2
gas
carbonic acid,
H2CO3
phosphorous(V)
P4H10
solid
phosphoric acid,
oxide
H3PO4

(ii) Basic oxides

Oxides of metals are generally basic
oxides.
Mostly, basic oxides are insoluble in water.
Only a few basic oxides such as sodium
oxide and potassium oxide are readily
soluble in water to form alkalis.
For example,
potassium oxide + water
K2O(s) + H2O(l)

potassium hydroxide
2KOH(aq)

 Basic oxides are solids at room temperature.

Basic oxides react with acids to form a
salt and water.
For example,
magnesium oxide + sulfuric acid

MgO(s) + H2SO4(aq)

magnesium
sulphate +
water

MgSO4(aq) + H2O(l)

(iii) Amphoteric oxides

Some metals form amphoteric oxides.
Amphoteric oxides can react with both
acids and bases to form a salt and
water.

For example,
- In reaction (a) with sulfuric acid, lead behaves as a basic
oxide forming a salt (lead sulphate) and water.
- In reaction (b), with sodium hydroxide, lead(II) oxide
behaves as an acidic oxide forming a salt (sodium
plumbate(II)) and water.
(a) Lead(II) oxide + sulfuric acid
lead(II) sulfate + water
PbO(s) + H2SO4(aq) PbSO4(aq) + H2O(l)
(b) Lead(II) oxide + sodium hydroxide sodium + water
plumate(II)
PbO(s) + 2NaOH(aq) Na2PbO2(aq) + H2O(l)

Amphoteric Formula Salt produced Salt produced

oxide
with sulphuric with sodium
acid
hydroxide
zinc oxide
ZnO
zinc sulfate,
Sodium
ZnSO4
zincate,
Na2ZnO2
aluminium
Al2O3 aluminium
Sodium
oxide
sulfate,
aluminate,
Al2(SO4)3
NaAlO2
lead(II)
PbO
lead sulfate,
Sodium
oxide
PbSO4
plumbate(II),
Na2PbO2

(iv) Neutral oxides

Oxides of some non-metals are neutral
because they are neither acidic nor basic
in their properties. These are called
neutral oxides.
Neutral oxides are usually insoluble in
water.
Some examples of neutral oxide are
water, H O
Carbon monoxide, CO
Nitric oxide, NO
2

Acidic
oxide

Basic
oxide

Amphoteric
oxide

Physical
may exist solids at
solids at
state at
as gases toom
room
room
or solids temperature temperature
temperature
Formation

formed by formed by
nonmetals
metals

Solubility in usually
water
soluble in
water to
form
acids

mostly
insoluble. A
few basic
oxides
dissolve in
water to
form
alkalis, e.g
Na2O, K2O

Neutral
oxide
usually
gases or
liquids

formed by
formed by
some metals some nonmetals
mostly
insoluble in
water

usually
insoluble in
water

Acidic
oxide

Basic
oxide

Amphoteric
oxide

Neutral
oxide

Test with
litmus
paper

solutions in
water turn
blue litmus
red

if soluble in
water,
solutions
turn red
litmus blue

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Reaction
with acids

do not
react with
acids

reacts with
acids to
form salt
and water

reacts with
both acids
and bases to
form a salt
and water

do not
react with
acids or
bases

Reaction
react with
with bases alkalis to
form a salt
and water
Examples

CO2,SO2

---

Na2O, K2O, ZnO, Al2O3,

MgO, CaO, PbO
CuO, Fe2O3

H2O, CO,
N2O