CHEMISTRY NOTES: ACIDIC / BASIC SALTS

 In neutralization reactions between acids and bases the two products are water and a “salt”.

HCl(aq) + KOH(aq) → H2O(l) + KCl(aq)

+ −
The KCl in the above reaction is the “salt”. Notice that the K of the salt comes from the base and the Cl of the
salt comes from the acid. This will always hold true, the cation of the salt comes from the base and anion comes
from the acid in neutralization reactions. Another example:

HBr(aq) + NH4OH → H2O(l) + NH4Br

 When the salt is dissolved in water, it is capable of producing an acidic, a basic, or a neutral solution. To
determine what type of solution the salt would form you need to determine what type of acid (strong or weak) the
anion could come from and what type of base (strong or weak) the cation could come from. The following table
can be used to determine the type of solution formed.

ACID ANION FROM BASE CATION FROM SOLUTION TYPE

strong strong neutral
strong weak acidic
weak strong basic

To do this you need to remember your strong acids and strong bases.

STRONG ACIDS STRONG BASES

HCl LiOH
HBr NaOH
HI KOH
HNO3 RbOH
HClO3 Ca(OH)2
HClO4 Sr(OH)2
H2SO4 Ba(OH)2

 When determining the type of solution formed by a salt, simply consider the acid or base the two ions can come
from. Whichever comes from a strong acid/base, then the solution will be that unless both acid and base are
strong (then the solution is neutral).

 Examples:

salt K2CO3 NH4NO3 LiBr

base for cation KOH (strong) NH4OH (weak) LiOH (strong)
acid for anion H2CO3 (weak) HNO3 (strong) HBr (strong)
Since the base is strong Since the acid is strong and Since both the acid and
solution type and the acid is weak, the the base is weak, the base are strong, the
solution will be BASIC. solution will be ACIDIC. solution will be NEUTRAL.

 There are two other types of salts that should be considered:

o metallic oxides → form basic solutions
Na2O(s) + H2O(l) → 2NaOH(aq)
K2O(s) + H2O(l) → 2KOH(aq)

o nonmetallic oxides → form acidic solutions

SO2(g) + H2O(l) → H2SO3(aq)
CO2(g) + H2O(l) → H2CO3(aq)
SOME PRACTICE: See if you can figure out the type of solution formed by the salt without looking at the answers below.

1) Li2SO3
2) NH4ClO3
3) Ba(NO3)2
4) Rb2O
5) KC2H3O2
6) NO2
7) N2H5Br
8) Na2CO3
9) KNO3

ANSWERS:
+ 2−
1) basic (Li comes from strong base, SO3 from a weak acid)
+ −
2) acidic (NH4 comes from weak base, ClO3 from a strong acid)
2+ −
3) neutral (Ba comes from a strong base, NO3 from a strong acid)
4) basic (a metallic oxide)
+ −
5) basic (K comes from a strong base, C2H3O2 from a weak acid)
6) acidic (a nonmetallic oxide)
+ −
7) acidic (N2H5 comes from a weak base, Br from a strong acid)
+ 2−
8) basic (Na comes from a strong base, CO3 from a weak acid)
+ −
9) neutral (K comes from a strong base, NO3 from a strong acid)