Acids and Bases

Acid-Base Equilibria

Properties

Acids

taste sour

turn blue litmus paper red

neutralize bases

conduct electricity

Bases

taste bitter

turn red litmus blue

neutralize acids

conduct electricity

CHEM 1105 Lecture Notes Acids and Bases 1

Arrhenius Theory (1887)

Acid: substance that yields H+ ions in water.

e.g., HCl

Base: substance that yields OH– ions in water.

e.g., NaOH

Problems with Arrhenius Theory

- H+ does not exist in water

- not all bases contain OH-

e.g., NH3

CHEM 1105 Lecture Notes Acids and Bases 2

Bronsted - Lowry Theory (1923)

Acid: a substance capable of donating a proton (H+)

e.g., HCl, H2SO4, CH3COOH, NH4+

Base: a substance capable of accepting a proton (H+).

e.g., NH3, CO32-, OH-

 the Bronsted - Lowry concept is not limited to aqueous

solutions, but is (also) applicable to reactions that do
not occur in aqueous solution

CHEM 1105 Lecture Notes Acids and Bases 3

Proton Transfer Reactions

HCl + H2O  H3O+ + Cl–

Acid Base Conjugate Conjugate
Acid Base

Cl– is conjugate base of HCl (formed by removal of H+ from

HCl).

H3O+ is conjugate acid of H2O (formed by addition of H+ to

H2O).

 conjugate acid-base pair HCl & Cl–

NH3 + H2O 

Base Acid

 water can act as:

- a proton donor (an acid) or

- a proton acceptor (a base)

 amphoteric substances

CHEM 1105 Lecture Notes Acids and Bases 4

Ex. What is the conjugate acid of each of the following?

Ex. What is the conjugate base of each of the following?


Ex. a. Write an equation for the reaction in which H2PO4 (aq)
acts as a base in H2 0( ) .

b. Write an equation for the reaction in which

H2P0 4( aq) acts as an acid in H2 0( ) .

CHEM 1105 Lecture Notes Acids and Bases 5

Autoionization of Water

 equilibrium constant expression:

Kw = [H3O+] [OH–] = 1.0 x 10–14

 Kw has the same value for every aqueous solution.

 Pure water or neutral solutions:

[H3O+] = [OH–] = 1.0 x 10–7 M

 Acidic solutions:

[H3O+] > 1.0 x 10–7 M

 Basic solutions:

[H3O+] < 1.0 x 10–7M

CHEM 1105 Lecture Notes Acids and Bases 6

Calculating [H3O+] and [OH–] from Kw

Ex. Gatorade has a H3O+ concentration of 8.0x10-4 M.

Calculate OH-. Is gatorade acidic, basic, or neutral?

CHEM 1105 Lecture Notes Acids and Bases 7

Measuring Acidity in Aqueous Solutions
The pH Scale

pH = – log [H3O+]

Calculating pH from [H3O+]

 Neutral solution

 Acidic solution

Ex. [H3O+] = 2.0 x 10–3 M

 Basic solution

Ex. [OH–] = 4.0 x 10–3 M

CHEM 1105 Lecture Notes Acids and Bases 8

Relationships among [H3O+], [OH–] and pH (at 25C)

Solution type [H3O+] (m) [OH–] (m) pH

> 1.0 x 10–7 < 1.0 x 10–7
= 1.0 x 10–7 = 1.0 x 10–7
< 1.0 x 10–7 > 1.0 x 10–7

Values of pH for some common solutions

CHEM 1105 Lecture Notes Acids and Bases 9

Calculating [H3O+] from pH

Ex. A sample of acid mine drainage has a pH of 3.76.

Calculate [H3O+].

Other “p” scales

pOH = – log [OH–]

Kw = [H3O+] [OH–] = 1.0 x 10–14

CHEM 1105 Lecture Notes Acids and Bases 10

Ex. The pH of a solution is 9.34. What is the pOH and
[OH–]?

CHEM 1105 Lecture Notes Acids and Bases 11

Acid and Base Strength
 acids differ in their ability to donate an H+

 Table – order of increasing acid strength

(e.g. HF is a better H+ donor than H2S)

 as acid strength increases, the strength of the

conjugate base decreases

CHEM 1105 Lecture Notes Acids and Bases 12

Strong Acids

Strong Acids: acids which react completely with water to

form H3O+ ions.

HCl, HBr, HI, HNO3, HClO4, & H2SO4

Calculating pH for solutions of strong acids

Ex. An aqueous solution of HNO3 has a pH of 2.66. What

is the concentration of the acid?

CHEM 1105 Lecture Notes Acids and Bases 13

Strong Bases: bases which dissociate entirely into ions in
aqueous solution

LiOH, NaOH, KOH

Ba(OH)2, Ca(OH)2

Calculating pH for solutions of strong bases

Ex. What is the pH of a 0.012 M NaOH solution?

CHEM 1105 Lecture Notes Acids and Bases 14

Ex. What concentration of Ca(OH)2 in water is needed to
give a solution of pH 11.40?

CHEM 1105 Lecture Notes Acids and Bases 15

Weak Acids: acids which are partially ionized in water

e.g., HF, HCN, NH 4 , HC2H3O2

 equilibrium constant for ionization reaction

 the magnitude of Ka indicates the tendency of an acid to

ionize in water

CHEM 1105 Lecture Notes Acids and Bases 16

Calculating pH for solutions of weak acids

Ex. What is the pH of 0.150 M HCN?

ka = 4.9 x 10–10 at 25C

CHEM 1105 Lecture Notes Acids and Bases 17

Weak Bases: bases which are not completely dissociated in
water
e.g., NH3, CN–, HCO 3 , PO 34 

Equilibrium constant expression:

NH3(aq) + H2O(1)  NH 4 ( aq) + OH (aq)

K
NH  0H 

4


NH3  H2 0

NH  0H 
 

K[H20] = Kb = 4

NH3 

the base - dissociation constant

CHEM 1105 Lecture Notes Acids and Bases 18

Calculating pH for Solutions of Weak Bases

Ex. What is the pH of a solution of 0.075 M NH3? The Kb

value for NH3 is 1.8 x 10–5.

CHEM 1105 Lecture Notes Acids and Bases 19

Relationship between Ka and Kb

NH4  H2O 

H3O  NH3

NH3  H2O   NH    OH

4


Equilibrium constant for added reactions:

Reaction (1) + Reaction (2) = Reaction (3)

K1  K 2  K 3

Ka  Kb  K w

 As acid strength  (larger ka), conjugate base strength

 (smaller kb) such that K a  K b  1.0  1014

pKa + pKb = pKw = 14.00

Calculating Ka and Kb

CHEM 1105 Lecture Notes Acids and Bases 20

Ex. The ka for HF is 6.810-4 at 25C.
What is the Kb for F-?

Ex. The pkb for CO32- is 3.68. Calculate the Ka for HCO3.

CHEM 1105 Lecture Notes Acids and Bases 21

Ex. Arrange the following ions in order of increasing base
strength:

pKb
CN- 4.69
NO 2
10.65

C2H3O 2 9.26

NO 2 < C2H3O 2 < CN 

weakest strongest
(smallest pkb)

The stronger the base, the larger the kb value and

the smaller the pkb value.

Textbook Chapters (12 E & 13 E)

CHEM 1105 Lecture Notes Acids and Bases 22

4.3, 16.1 - 16.8

Textbook Exercises (12 E)

4.31, 4.32

16.15, 16.16, 16.17, 16.19, 16.23

16.29, 16.31

16.38, 16.40

16.41, 16.42, 16.43 a) & b), 16.45 a) & b), 16.48

16.49, 16.55, 16.57, 16.59 a) & b), 16.70 a) & b), 16.73

16.77, 16.79

Textbook Exercises (13 E)

4.33, 4.34

16.15, 16.16, 16.17, 16.19, 16.23

16.29, 16.31

16.35, 16.38

16.41, 16.42, 16.43 a) & b), 16.45 a) & b), 16.48

16.49, 16.55, 16.57, 16.59 a) & b), 16.68 a) & b), 16.71

16.75, 16.77

CHEM 1105 Lecture Notes Acids and Bases 23