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Chapter 6
Acids and Bases
Key terms
hydronium ion, H3O+ A proton covalently 𝐾𝑤 = [𝐻3 𝑂+ ][𝑂𝐻 − ]
bonded to a water molecule. pH The negative common logarithm of [H3O+].
Arrhenius acid-base definition A model of acid- acid-base indicator An organic molecule whose
base behavior in which an acid is a substance that color is different in acid and in base and is used to
has H in its formula and dissociates in water to monitor the equivalence point of a titration or the
yield H3O+, and a base is a substance that has OH pH of a solution.
in its formula and produces OH- in water. Brønsted-Lowry acid-base definition A model
neutralization Process that occurs when an H+ of acid-base behavior based on proton transfer, in
ion from an acid combines with an OH- ion from which an acid and a base are defned, respectively,
a base to form H2O. as species that donate and accept a proton.
acid-dissociation (acid-ionization) constant proton donor A substance that donates an H+
(Ka) An equilibrium constant for the dissociation ion; a Brønsted-Lowry acid.
of an acid (HA) in H2O to yield the conjugate proton acceptor A substance that accepts an H+
base (A-) and H3O+: ion; a Brønsted-Lowry base.
[𝐻3 𝑂+ ][𝐴− ] amphoteric Able to act as either an acid or a
𝐾𝑎 =
[𝐻𝐴] base.
autoionization (also self-ionization) A reaction solubility-product constant (Ksp) An
in which two molecules of a substance react to equilibrium constant for a slightly soluble ionic
give ions. The most important example is for compound dissolving in water.
water:
ligand A molecule or anion bonded to a central
metal ion in a complex ion.
autoprotolysis A proton (hydron) transfer conjugate acid-base pair Two species related to
reaction between two identical molecules (usually each other through the gain or loss of a proton;
a solvent), one acting as a Brønsted acid and the the acid has one more proton than its conjugate
other as a Brønsted base. base.
ion-product constant for water (Kw) The polyprotic acid An acid with more than one
equilibrium constant for the autoionization of ionizable proton.
water; equal to 1.0×10-14 at 298 K. base-dissociation (base-ionization) constant
1
General Chemistry II Dr. Truong Thanh Tu
(Kb) An equilibrium constant for the reaction of a buffer to resist a change in pH; related to the total
base (B) with H2O to yield the conjugate acid concentrations and relative proportions of buffer
(BH+) and OH-: components.
[𝐵𝐻 + ][𝑂𝐻 − ] buffer range The pH range over which a buffer
𝐾𝑏 =
[𝐵] acts effectively.
Lewis acid-base definition A model of acid-base acid-base titration curve A plot of the pH of a
behavior in which acids and bases are defned, solution of acid (or base) versus the volume of
respectively, as species that accept and donate an base (or acid) added to the solution.
electron pair. equivalence point The point in a titration when
acid-base buffer (also buffer) A solution that the number of moles of the added species is
resists changes in pH when a small amount of stoichiometrically equivalent to the original
either strong acid or strong base is added. number of moles of the other species.
Henderson-Hasselbalch equation An equation end point The point in a titration at which the
for calculating the pH of a buffer system: indicator changes color.
[𝑏𝑎𝑠𝑒] complex ion An ion consisting of a central metal
𝑝𝐻 = 𝑝𝐾𝑎 + 𝑙𝑜𝑔 ( )
[𝑎𝑐𝑖𝑑] ion bonded covalently to molecules and/or anions
common-ion effect The shift in the position of an called ligands.
ionic equilibrium away from an ion involved in formation constant (Kf) An equilibrium constant
the process that is caused by the addition or for the formation of a complex ion from the
presence of that ion. hydrated metal ion and ligands.
buffer capacity A measure of the ability of a
Key Principles
• In aqueous systems, the proton always exists as a hydronium ion, H3O+. In the Arrhenius acid-base
definition, an acid is an H-containing compound that yields H3O+ in water, a base is an OH-containing
compound that yields OH- in water, and an acid-base (neutralization) reaction occurs when H3O+ and OH-
form H2O. (Section 6.1)
• The dissociation of a weak acid, HA, in water is reversible and is associated with an equilibrium
constant called the acid-dissociation constant, Ka. The stronger the acid, the higher its Ka: weak acids
typically have Ka values that are several orders of magnitude less than 1, falling mostly between 10-2 and
10-10. (Section 6.1)
• Water molecules dissociate (autoionize) reversibly to a very small extent in a process associated with
the ion-product constant for water, Kw. Acidity or basicity is determined by the relative magnitudes of
[H3O+] and [OH-]: in a neutral solution (or pure water), [H3O+] [OH-], in an acidic solution, [H3O+] [OH-
], and in a basic solution, [H3O+] [OH-]. (Section 6.1)
• In the Brønsted-Lowry acid-base definition, a base is any species that accepts a proton; therefore, there
are many more Brønsted-Lowry bases than Arrhenius bases. When base B accepts a proton from acid
• For a salt solution, the ion that reacts with water to a greater extent (higher K) determines the solution’s
acidity or basicity. (Section 6.3)
• For hydrated metal ions, charge density is the key factor determining their acidity. (Section 6.3)
• In the Lewis acid-base definition, an acid is any species that accepts a lone pair to form a new bond and
yield an adduct; therefore, there are many more Lewis acids than Arrhenius or Brønsted-Lowry acids.
Lewis acids include metal ions and molecules with either electron-deficient atoms or polar multiple
bonds. (Section 6.3)
• In an aqueous solution at equilibrium, an ionic substance dissociates less if one of
the ions in the substance is already present. As a result of this common-ion effect,
an acid (HA) dissociates more (and thus the solution has a lower pH) in water than
in a solution containing A-. (Section 6.4)
• An acid-base buffer is a solution containing high concentrations of a conjugate acid-base pair. It resists
changes in pH because of the common-ion effect: the conjugate base (or acid) component reacts with
added H3O+ from a strong acid (or OH- from a strong base) to keep pH relatively constant. A
concentrated buffer has more capacity to resist a pH change than a dilute buffer. Buffers have a range of
about 2 pH units, which corresponds to a value from 10 to 0.1 for the ratio [A-] [HA]. (Section 6.4.1)
• The equivalence point of an acid-base titration occurs when the amount (mol) of acid equals the amount
(mol) of base. The pH at the equivalence point depends on the acid-base properties of the cation and the
anion present: in a strong acid– strong base titration, the equivalence point is at pH = 7; in a weak acid–
strong base titration, pH > 7; and in a weak base–strong acid titration, pH < 7. In the latter two titrations,
a buffer region occurs before the equivalence point is reached. (Section 6.5.2)
• The dissolution in water of a slightly soluble ionic compound reaches an
equilibrium characterized by a solubility-product constant, Ksp, that is much lower
than 1. Addition of a common ion lowers the compound’s solubility still further.
Learning Objectives
1. Understand the nature of the hydrated proton, the Arrhenius definition of an acid and a base, and why
all strong acid–strong base reactions have the same Horxn; describe how acid strength is expressed by
Ka; classify strong and weak acids and bases from their formulas.
2. Describe the autoionization of water and explain the meaning of Kw and pH; understand why [H3O+]
is inversely related to [OH-] and how their relative magnitudes define the acidity of a solution;
interconvert pH, pOH, [H3O+], and [OH-].
3. Understand the Brønsted-Lowry definitions of an acid and a base; discuss how water can act as a base
or as an acid and how an acid-base reaction is a proton-transfer process involving two conjugate acid-base
pairs, with the stronger acid and base forming the weaker base and acid.
4. Calculate Ka from the pH of an HA solution or pH from the Ka and initial [HA]; explain why the
percent dissociation of HA increases as [HA] decreases and know how to find percent dissociation;
understand why the first dissociation of a polyprotic acid has a much larger Ka than the second.
5. Understand the meaning of Kb, and why ammonia and amines and weak-acid anions are bases; discuss
how relative [HA] and [A-] determine the acidity or basicity of a solution, and show the relationship
between Ka and Kb of a conjugate acid-base pair and Kw; calculate pH from Kb and [B]init, and find Kb
of A from Ka of HA.