UNIT 11:

ACIDS
BASES AND
SALTS

Salts All ionic compounds are salts. While NaCl

captures the title of salt, the reality is that NaCl is
merely the most plentiful of the many varieties of salt.
Salts that dissolve in water are very common and each
one is an electrolyte.
As salts dissolve, the ions present dissociate and it is
the presence of ions that allows for the passage of
electric current.
The higher the concentration of ions, the better a salt
acts as a conductor.

Acids and Bases There are multiple

definitions of acids and bases.
The simplest and most restrictive definition has
to do with specific ions that result from dissolving
substances in water.
Much more inclusive definitions involve
exchanges that occur on the atomic level in
chemical reactions.

Basic

7
Acid

14

PH SCALEE

Acidic

Neutral

Base

[H+]

pH

10-14

14

10-13

13

10-12

12

10-11

11

10-10

10

10-9

10-8

10-7

10-6

10-5

10-4

10-3

10-2

10-1

100

1 M NaOH

Ammonia
(household
cleaner)

Blood
Pure water
Milk

Vinegar
Lemon juice
Stomach acid

1 M HCl

Arrhenius Acid and Base Definition Arrhenius

acids and bases can be identified by the ions in the
compound. The most traditional way to look at acids
and bases is based on the Arrhenius definition.
Arrhenius acids produce hydrogen ions (H+) when
dissolved in water. These hydrogen ions are
attracted to the water molecules to produce
hydronium ions (H3O+). Arrhenius bases produce
hydroxide ions (OH-) when dissolved in water.

HCl H+ (aq) + Cl (aq)

gives hydrogen ions
NaOH (s) Na + (aq) + OH- (aq)
gives hydroxide ions

Examples: hydrochloric acid (HCl), nitric acid

( HNO3), acetic acid (HC2H3O2), sulfuric acid
H2SO4, sodium hydroxide (NaOH), potassium
hydroxide (KOH)

Bronsted-Lowry Acid/Base Definition

A broader definition of acids and bases
involves the exchange of protons (H+).
A Bronsted-Lowry Acid is a proton donor.
A Bronsted-Lowry Base is a proton acceptor.
To determine whether the compound is an
acid or a base using this definition, the
reaction needs to be examined.
If the compound loses a hydrogen ion, the
compound is a Bronsted-Lowry acid.
If the compound gains a hydrogen ion, the
compound is a Bronsted-Lowry base.

Example:

NH3

+ H 2O

(Base)
Base)

(Acid)

NH4+

OH-

(Conjugate Acid) (Conjugate

Bronsted-Lowry acid:

proton (i.e., H1+) donor

Bronsted-Lowry base:

proton (i.e., H1+) acceptor

B-L theory is based on conjugate acid-base pairs.

**Conjugate acid has extra H1+; conjugate base

doesnt.**

Lewis Acid and Base Definition The broadest definition of an acid or

base is the Lewis definition.
A Lewis acid is a compound that acts as
an electron pair acceptor and the Lewis
base is a compound that acts as an
electron pair donor.
While the multiple definitions are
helpful and important for different
reasons, our focus will be on the
Arrhenius definition.

STRONG AND WEAK

ACIDS AND BASES

Acids

and bases are characterized by the

degree to which they dissociate into ions
when dissolved in water.

Acids and bases that completely, or nearly

completely, ionize are considered strong
acids and strong bases.
Acids and bases that only slightly dissolve
and set up systems of equilibrium when
dissolved in water are considered weak
acids and weak bases.

 Strong

acids and strong bases,

because of their high degrees of
dissociation, are excellent conductors
of electricity.

Weak acids and weak bases,

because of their very limited degrees
of dissociation, are very weak
conductors of electricity.

 The

strength or weakness of acids and

bases is directly related to the
strength of the covalent bonds holding
them together.

If the bond energy is low, dissociation

is enhanced and therefore the acid or
base will freely ionize.

If

the bond energy is high, dissociation

is very limited and therefore the acid
or base will only ionize partially.

Examples of Strong Acids and Bases:

hydrochloric acid (HCl), sulfuric acid (H2SO4),
nitric acid (HNO3); sodium hydroxide (NaOH),
potassium hydroxide (KOH)

Examples of Weak Acids and Bases: acetic

acid (HC2H3O2), phosphoric acid (H3PO4);
ammonia (NH3)

PROPERTIES OF ACIDS & BASES

Acid
Sour taste
Turns blue litmus red
Reacts with some metals to produce H2
Dissolves carbonate salts, releasing CO2

Base
Bitter taste
Turns red litmus blue
Slippery to the touch

Questions:

1. Compare the properties of acidic solutions and basic

solutions
2. How do the concentrations of hydrogen ions and
hydroxide ions determine whether a solutions is acidic,
basic, or neutral?

Everybody has heard of pH. You've seen it in

middle school, you've heard people talk about it
in shampoo commercials, and you can even buy
deodorant that's "pH balanced", whatever that
means. Unfortunately, most people don't know
what pH is.

 pH

is a measurement of the H+ concentration in a

liquid.

If there's a high H+ concentration, the pH

indicates that you've got a very acidic solution.

If

the solution is neutral, there's only a small H+

concentration, and the pH reflects that.

If

the solution is basic, there's almost no H+

concentration, and you can tell that by the pH
number.

pH

is nothing more than a way of telling how

concentrated an H+ solution is.

PH AND PH CALCULATIONS

pH is a measure of the acidity or basicity of a

solution based on the concentration of hydrogen
(H+) ions. It is a logarithmic value and therefore
does not involve units. The formula for pH is as
follows:

pH = - log [H+]

where [H+] is the concentration of H+ ions

is a corresponding formula for pOH

based on the concentration of hydroxide
(OH-) ions. The formula for pOH is as
follows:

There

pOH

= - log [OH-]

where

ions

[OH-] is the concentration of OH-

 pH

Scale The pH scale ranges from 0 14. At a

pH of 7, the value for pure water, the
concentration of hydrogen and hydroxide ions is
the same 1 x 10-7 M. pH values below 7 indicate
the presence of greater concentration of hydrogen
ions an acid.

At

the extreme end of the acid portion of the scale,

the concentration of hydrogen ions is 1 x 100 M, or
1 M. pH values above 7 indicate the presence of
greater concentration of hydroxide ions a base.

At

the extreme end of the base portion of the scale,

the concentration of hydroxide ions is 1 x 10-14 M.

In a corresponding manner, the pOH also ranges

from 0 14.
At the extreme end of the base portion of the
scale, the concentration of hydroxide ions is 1 x
100 M, or 1 M.
At the extreme end of the acid portion of the
scale, the concentration of hydroxide ions is 1 x
10-14 M.

Therefore, the following are always true:

pH + pOH = 14
or
[H+] x [OH-] = 1 x 10-14 M

The product of H+ and OH- are always equal to

1.0 x 10-14 at 298K. So if the concentration of
hydrogen increases the hydroxide concentration
decreases

FOR THE EASE OF UNDERSTANDING, THE

FOLLOWING GRAPHIC SHOWS THE RELATIVE
AMOUNT OF HYDROGEN ION CONCENTRATION AS
COMPARED TO PURE WATER AND EVERYDAY
ITEMS WITH A CORRESPONDING PH:

Calculating pH
The pH of a solution is the negative logarithm of
hydrogen ion concentration
pH = - log [H+]

Hydrgen ion concentration to pH:

pH is inherently a calculated value using the
formula that defines it:
pH = - log [H+]

Examples:
What is the pH of a solution with a hydrogen ion
concentration of 1 x 10-8 M?
pH = - log (10-8)
pH = 8

What is the pH of a solution with a hydrogen ion

concentration of 2.5 x 10-5 M?
pH = - log (2.5 x 10-5)
pH = 4.60

pH to Hydrogen ion concentration:

In order to determine the hydrogen
concentration given the pH, the inverse
calculation is necessary. This formula is as
follows:
[H+] = 10-pH

Examples:
What is the hydrogen ion concentration of a
solution with a pH of 5?

[H+] = 10-5 M

pH to pOH:
Because the sum of pH and pOH always equals
14, to find the pOH is accomplished by
subtracting the pH from 14.

pH + pOH = 14

Example:
What is the pOH when the pH of a solution is
12.5?

12.5 + pOH = 14
pOH = 14 12.5
pOH = 1.5

Calculations using pOH:

All of the formulas are exactly the same with the
only difference being the variable pOH instead of
pH. Therefore, all calculations take exactly the
same form.

PH INDICATORS

pH indicators are weak acids and weak bases that

experience a color change over a narrow interval of pH
values that allow the user to estimate the actual pH
value of a solution.
Since different indicators change different colors over
different ranges, it is not unusual to use various
indicators to effectively estimate the value of pH.
The most common indicator is litmus

Since litmus undergoes a dramatic color change at a

pH between values of 6 and 8, it is a very good
indicator to quickly identify whether a solution is an
acid or a base.
Litmus is red in the presence of an acid and blue in the
presence of a base.
The only range where litmus is unreliable is the
narrow band immediately surrounding the neutral pH
of 7.

One

of the most dramatic uses of indicators is

that involving titration. The color change in the
indicator identifies the endpoint of the titration.
Not

all indicators are man-made compounds.

Certain plants, red cabbage in particular, contain
compounds that can be effective indicators of pH

Some indicators, such as universal indicator, change

different colors over a wide range of pH.
This provides for the quick estimation of pH using a
single indicator.
Universal indicator is actually a combination of
multiple indicators that when used in unison turn
specific colors that estimate the pH.
The scale below is representative of universal indicator

Review:
1. What is the relationship between the pH
of a solution and the concentration of
hydrogen ions in the solution?
2. If you know the pOH of a solution,
how
can you determine its pH?

NEUTRALIZATION

Strong acids and bases react with one another to

produce water and a salt.
Such special double replacement reactions are
known as neutralization reactions since the
products of the reactions are water, which is
neutral, and salt which also is neither an
Arrhenius acid or base

Like all reactions, the amount of neutralization

depends on the number of moles of the reactant acid
and base.

If the acid and base are present in a ratio equal to the

mole ratio of the reactants, then the resultant solution
will be completely neutralized.

Otherwise, the resultant solution will be either an acid

or a base depending on which reactant is the excess
reactant.

The salt produced in the neutralization reaction

will be composed of the anion (negative ion) of the
acid and the cation (positive ion) of the base.

This salt may be either soluble or insoluble as

determined by its inherent solubility in water.

Example:

HCl + NaOH NaCl + H2O

If one mole of HCl reacts with one mole of NaOH,

the acid and base will be completely neutralized
and one mole of salt will be dissolved in the water
that existed before the reaction as the solvent
and the additional water produced in the
reaction.

If more acid is used instead, the resultant

solution will have salt dissolved in an acid. If
less acid is used, the resultant solution will be a
base.

NEUTRALIZATION OF BUG
BITES

Wasp - stings with base

Red Ant - bites with acid

(neutralize with lemon juice or vinegar)

(neutralize with baking soda)

ACID-BASE TITRATION

Let's say you have an acidic solution and wanted

to figure out the molarity. Well, you can't do that
directly, because you can't count acid molecules.
They're too small. You can, however, make a
basic solution with a concentration that you
already know.

If you keep adding base to the acid, eventually all of

the acid molecules will be neutralized and the solution
will turn from an acid to a base.

If you know how many base molecules you added to the

solution before the solution gets neutralized (and you
will, because you'll add the solution drop-by-drop), you
can figure out how much acid was in the solution in
the first place

Of course, this leads to an interesting problem:

How can you tell when the solution gets
neutralized? The answer: Indicators!
Indicators are chemical compounds that turn
different colors when they're in solutions with
different pH's.

The indicators you'd most likely work with turn

color when the solution becomes neutralized.
Litmus, for example, is red in acid solutions and
blue in basic solutions.
Phenolphthalein (pronounced fee-no-thay-leen) is
clear in acid solutions and pink in basic solutions

Titration is a laboratory technique for

quantitative analysis used to determine the
unknown concentration of a solution. Acid-Base
titrations use the basis of neutralization
reactions as the central feature of the analysis

By adding a known amount of a strong acid or base, of

a known concentration, to neutralize the solution,
calculations can be performed to determine the
concentration of the solution being analyzed.
Typically a pH indicator is used to identify the
endpoint, or equivalence point, of a titration.
At the endpoint, the indicator will change color
identifying the volume required to neutralize the
solution being analyzed.

TITRATION

Titration

standard solution

Analytical

method in
which a standard solution
is used to determine the
concentration of an
unknown solution.

unknown solution
Courtesy Christy Johannesson www.nisd.net/communicationsarts/pages/chem

TITRATION

Equivalence point (endpoint)

Point

at which equal amounts of

H3O+ and OH- have been added.

Determined

by

indicator color change

dramatic change in pH

BUFFERS

Buffers solutions are a combination of a weak

acid and a strong acid or a strong base with a
weak base.
Since the weak acid or weak base is a system in
equilibrium, any change in the pH with the
addition of an acid or a base will be mitigated by
a corresponding shift in the equilibrium
The overall effect is that the pH can be controlled
within a given range by resisting a change in the
pH.

Buffers play an integral role in natural systems that

are very susceptible to the effects of changes in pH.
Buffers maintain these systems within acceptable
fluctuations.
Buffers are also used in a variety of manufacturing
and industrial applications where the maintenance of
pH is required.
Buffer solutions can also be used to control the pH of
an environment where corrosion is an issue.

Your blood is a buffered solution. If it wasn't,

your pH would be go way down every time you
had a soda and way up whenever you took some
Tums. It's not a very handy survival technique
to die every time you have a soda.