ACIDS & BASES

ACIDS
Many compounds dissolve in water to produce acidic or alkaline solutions, while
many other compounds react with water to produce acidic or alkaline solutions.
The soluble oxides of non-metals, such as carbon dioxide (CO 2), sulphur
dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2), produce acidic solutions.
Hydrogen halides, such as HCl and HBr, are gases which dissolve in water to
produce acidic solutions.
Acids dissolve in aqueous solution produce hydrogen ions, H + (aq).

BASES
All metal oxides and hydroxides are bases. Most of these are insoluble in water.
The oxides and hydroxides of metals which are soluble in water, for example
sodium and potassium oxides, sodium and potassium hydroxides and calcium
hydroxide, are called alkalis. Alkalis in aqueous solution produce hydroxide ions,
OH-(aq).

NEUTRALISATION
Hydrogen ions, H+(aq), make solutions acidic. Hydroxide ions, OH -(aq), make
solutions alkaline. When equal numbers of hydrogen ions and hydroxide ions react
together, they produce a neutral solution, which can be shown by an indicator. The
simplest equation to represent this process of neutralisation is:

H+(aq) + OH-(aq) H2O(l)

The other product of the reaction is a salt.

The Strengths of Acids

Acids are classified according to the extent to which they dissociate into ions
when dissolved in water.

Strong Acids
A STRONG ACID is one which is 100% dissociated into ions in water.

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Examples of strong acids are hydrochloric acid, sulphuric acid and nitric acid.

HCl H+ (aq) + Cl- (aq) 100%

Weak Acids
A WEAK ACID is one which is only partially dissociated into ions in water.

Examples of weak acids are ethanoic acid (in vinegar), citric acid (in lemon juice)
and carbonic acid (in soda water).

CH3COOH H+ (aq) + CH3COO- (aq) 1%

Comparing Strong & Weak Acids

Since strong acids are ionised to a greater extent than weak acids, a solution of a
strong acid will contain a higher concentration of hydrogen ions than a weak acid of
the same concentration. This means that any reaction involving hydrogen ions will
occur faster with the strong acid than with the weak acid.

The higher the hydrogen ion concentration, the lower the pH.
1M HCl, a strong acid, has a pH of about 1.
1M ethanoic acid, a weak acid, has a pH of about 3.

(1M is a measure of concentration; there is one mole of the acid in a litre of

solution.)

Reaction with Magnesium

Magnesium dissolves in acids, giving off bubbles of hydrogen gas. The reaction is a
redox reaction involving hydrogen ions:
Mg(s) + 2H+(aq) Mg2+(aq) + H2(g)

If a piece of magnesium dissolves in 10cm 3 of 1M HCl in 20 seconds, an identical

piece of magnesium will take approximately 150 seconds to dissolve in 10cm 3 of 1M
ethanoic acid. The lower concentration of hydrogen ions in the weak acid means
that the reaction rate is reduced.

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The Strengths of Alkalis

Like acids, alkalis are classified according to the extent to which they dissociate
into ions when dissolved in water.

Strong Alkalis
A STRONG ALKALI is one which is 100% dissociated into ions in water.

Examples of strong alkalis are sodium hydroxide and potassium hydroxide.

NaOH H+ (aq) + OH- (aq) 100%

Weak Alkalis
A WEAK ALKALI is one which is only partially dissociated into ions in water.

An example of a weak alkali is ammonia solution. Ammonia produced hydroxide ions

in the following way;

NH3 + H 2O NH4+ (aq) + OH- (aq)

Since strong alkalis are ionised to a greater extent than weak alkalis, a solution of
a strong alkali will contain a higher concentration of hydroxide ions than a weak
alkali of the same concentration. This is reflected in the pH.

The higher the hydroxide ion concentration, the higher the pH.
1M NaOH, a strong alkali, has a pH of about 14.
1M ammonia solution, a weak alkali, has a pH of about 10.

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Reactions of acids and bases

Compounds of metals called salts can be made by the reaction of different

substances with acids. These are all examples of neutralisation.

acid + metal salt + hydrogen

acid + base salt + water

acid + metal (hydrogen)carbonate salt + water + carbon dioxide

The particular salt formed in the reaction of an acid with an alkali depends on:
the acid used
the metal in the alkali

Neutralising hydrochloric acid produces chlorides.

Neutralising nitric acid produces nitrates.
Neutralising sulphuric acid produces sulphates.

For example:
potassium hydroxide + nitric acid potassium nitrate + water
sodium hydroxide + hydrochloric acid sodium chloride + water

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Ammonia is a gas which dissolves in water to produce an alkaline solution. This can
be neutralised by acids to produce ammonium salts. For example:

ammonia + sulphuric acid ammonium sulphate

Most metal oxides and hydroxides especially those of the transition elements, are
called bases since they are insoluble in water. The bases which are soluble in water,
like sodium hydroxide and potassium hydroxide, are called alkalis.

Ionic equations

Ionic equations only show ions which take part in a reaction and are often simpler
than full chemical equations. Consider a few examples of the reactions mentioned
above. Remember that many ionic substances dissolve in water to give a solution
containing a positive and negative ion. Those that dont dissolve still contain ions.

acid + base salt + hydrogen

HCl (aq) + NaOH (aq) NaCl (aq) + H2O (l)

H+(aq) + Cl -(aq) + Na+(aq) + OH-(aq) Na+(aq) + Cl - (aq) + H2O (l)

For the ionic equation we cancel out the spectator ions that are not taking part.

H+ (aq) + Cl -
(aq) + Na+ (aq) + OH-(aq) Na+(aq) + Cl -
(aq) + H2O(l)
Gives
H+(aq) + OH-(aq) H2O(l)
Another example

H2SO4 (aq) + CuO (s) CuSO4 (aq) + H2O (l)

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 2H+(aq) + SO4 2-(aq) + Cu2+(s) + O2-(s) Cu2+(aq) + SO4 2-(aq) + H2O (l)
For the ionic equation we cancel out the spectator ions that are not taking part.

2H+(aq) + SO4 2-
(aq) + Cu2+(s) + O2-(s) Cu2+(aq) + SO4 2-
(aq) + H2O (l)
2H (aq) ) + O
+ 2-
(s) H2O(l)
Neutralisation reactions are quite common in everyday life. If you have acid
indigestions you would take an alkali to neutralise the acid. Farmers use an
alkali (slaked lime) to neutralise acid soil since most crops prefer neutral soil.
If you have ever been stung by a bee, you may have used an alkali (calamine
lotion) to neutralise the acidic sting. Wasp stings are alkaline so you must use
an acid to neutralise these.

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4. TITRATION
When the metal oxide or metal carbonate is soluble in water, it is not possible to
use the method described in section 3, because it is not possible to see when an
excess has been added, nor is it possible to filter off the excess.

When the metal is very reactive, it is not possible to use the acid + metal method
described in section 3.

Therefore, none of the three usual methods for making soluble salts can be used
for making sodium and potassium salts. Instead titration is used.

For example, sodium chloride can be made by titrating hydrochloric acid with
sodium hydroxide solution.

The method is:

measure out a known volume of hydrochloric acid using a pipette
add one drop of phenolphthalein indicator
add sodium hydroxide solution a little at a time from a burette, until the
indicator just turns a pale pink colour, showing that neutralisation is
complete and the end-point has been reached
read from the burette the amount of sodium hydroxide solution needed
repeat the titration using identical volumes of hydrochloric acid and sodium
hydroxide solution, but leaving out the indicator
evaporate off most of the water from the solution and leave it to cool and
crystallise
collect sodium chloride crystals by filtration
wash the crystals with a little cold water and leave them to dry

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 CONCENTRATION OF SOLUTIONS
We have already seen that we can use titration to prepare a sample of a salt.
Titration is more often used to determine the concentration of an unknown
solution.

hydrochloric acid + sodium hydroxide sodium chloride + water.

HCl(aq) + NaOH(aq) NaCl(aq) + H2O(l)

The burette is filled with hydrochloric acid of known concentration. A known

quantity of alkali (say 25 cm3) of sodium hydroxide of unknown concentration is
added from a pipette into a conical flask. The tap on the burette is turned open to
allow the acid to be added drop by drop into the alkali.
The alkali contains an indicator (phenolphthalein) which is pink in an alkali and
colourless in an acid. The flask is swirled during the experiment to ensure mixing.

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When enough acid has been added to neutralise the alkali the indicator changes
from pink to colourless. This is called the end point and could also be determined
using a pH meter.

The titration can be repeated using the same amounts of acid and alkali and an
average value obtained.

Other indicators can be used too. Methyl orange is red in acid and yellow in alkali,
whilst litmus is red in acid and blue in alkali.

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Calculations

25cm3 of NaOH solution was exactly neutralised in a titration by 20.0cm 3 of

0.5mol/dm3 hydrochloric acid. Calculate the concentration of NaOH solution.

The balanced equation is

HCl + NaOH NaCl + H2O

The equation tells us that 1 mole of NaOH react with 1 mole of HCl

No of moles of HCl = concentration (mol/dm 3) x volume (dm3)

No of moles of HCl = 0.5 x 20/1000 (dm 3)

= 0.01

So in 20cm3 there are 0.01 moles of acid

Remember that in this case there are 1 moles of NaOH reacting with 1 mole of
HCl ie 1:1

In that case the 0.01 moles of acid must have reacted with 0.01 moles of NaOH

0.01 moles of NaOH was in 25cm3 (or 25/1000dm3)

Therefore the concentration of the NaOH, in mol/dm 3 = molesvolume (dm3)

So the concentration of the NaOH = 0.01 25/1000

Or 0.40 mol/dm3

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