ACIDS & ALKALIS

NEUTRALIZATION REACTIONS
 DEFINITIONS

Acid: a substance that tastes sour, corrosive, and fizz when it comes into contact
with solids.
Examples: hydrochloric acid - vinegar

Alkali: a substance that is slippery, irritant, and react with fat on the surface of the
skin and change it into substances found in soap.
Examples: sodium hydroxide – lime water – soap – household cleaners as the
ones used to clean floors and oven.
 ACIDS
Acids can be divided into many kinds.
Some acids are not corrosive, and are found in our food.
Other acids are found in living things are they are called organic acids.
Some organic acids are found in plants and other in animals.
Acids in plants Acids in animals
Citric acid in lemon Hydrochloric acid in stomach
Tartaric acid in grapes Lactic acid in muscles
Ascorbic acid in citrus fruits Uric acid in urine
Methanoic acid in nettle stings Methanoic acid in ant stings.
 ACID IN VINEGAR

• Ethanoic acid is found in vinegar.

• How to make vinegar or ethanoic acid?
• The wine contains ethanol and also has some oxygen dissolved in it.
• The oxygen will react with the ethanol and converts it to ethanoic acid.
• This reaction happens more quickly if the bottle containing the ethanol is left
opened.
 ORGANIC ACIDS & MINERAL ACIDS
• Acids are divided into organic and mineral according to where they are found or
made.
• Organic acids are found in living things as plants and animals as mentioned in
the table before. Ethanoic acid is also an organic acid.
• Mineral acids are not produced by living things. The first mineral acid to be
discovered was nitric acid. It was used to separate silver and gold. As the acid
will dissolve the silver but not the gold.
Later sulfuric acid and then hydrochloric acid were discovered.
• Note that hydrochloric acid is considered as both mineral acid and organic acid.
 ALKALIS

• There are many examples of alkalis.

• Most metal hydroxides and oxides are considered alkali substances.
• For example: potassium hydroxide – sodium hydroxide – iron hydroxide.
• Also calcium hydroxide known as lime water is an alkali. It is used to test carbon
dioxide gas. When carbon dioxide comes in contact with calcium hydroxide (lime
water) they will react together and turn the lime water into milky color.
• Note also that concentrated solutions of some alkalis are corrosive as sodium
hydroxide and potassium hydroxide.
 NEUTRAL SUBSTANCES

• Neutral substances are substances that are neither acid nor alkali.
• Examples of neutral substances are water, alcohols as ehanol, propanol, and all salts
as sodium chloride (table salt)
 DILUTED AND CONCENTRATED
SOLUTIONS
• A diluted solution is a solution that is being added to it water so it contains a lot of
water molecules more than the solute molecules.
• A concentrated solution is a solution that does not contain a lot of water
molecules, so the solute molecules are more than the water molecules.
• Both acids and alkalis can be either diluted or concentrated.
• You should note that concentrated acids or alkalis are more corrosive and
dangerous than diluted acids or alkalis.
 DETECTING ACIDS AND ALKALIS

• There are specific substances that are used to identify acids and alkalis, these
substances are called indicators.
• Indicators identify acids and alkalis by changing their colors when added to them.
• Robert Boyle is a scientist that studied acids and alkalis and decided to identify
them using juices of some plants. He made an indicator from red cabbage juice.
The indicator color is purple initially.
Acid + purple red cabbage juice → it turns from purple to red.
Alkali + purple red cabbage juice → it urns from purple to green.
HOW TO MAKE RED CABBAGE INDICATOR
• Try it at home and have fun:
1. Cut one or two papers of red or purple cabbage into small pieces.
2. put them in a flask.
3. Boil water and add the boiled water to the chopped papers.
4. Let them be soaked for about 15 minutes or until the water is cooled down.
5. Filter the chopped papers using a funnel and collect the purple red cabbage juice
in another flask.
6. Add the juice to some acids and alkalis that you have them at home and observe
the color change;
Acids as: lemon, oranges, vinegar……
Alkalis as: baking powder, soap, cleaning detergents, bleach…..
Neutral as: water and ethanol or the spirit you use for wounds.
 LITMUS INDICATOR
• Litmus, a juice taken from lichen, is also used as an indicator.
• Litmus papers and litmus solutions are widely used in all labs as indicators.
• Litmus solution is originally purple. It turns red when added to acids and turns
blue when added to alkalis.
• In the lab, there is red litmus papers and blue litmus papers.

Substance Red litmus paper Blue litmus paper

Acid Stays red Turns red
Alkali Turns blue Stays blue
Neutral Stays red Stays blue
 MORE INDICATORS

• There are over 20 indicators that scientists use. Here are few examples:
• Methyl orange is pink in acids and yellow in alkalis
• Phenolphthalein indicator is colorless in acids and pink in alkaline solutions.
• There is even a plant that can be used as an indicator. It is hyrdrangea plant.
• Hydrangeas have pink flowers when they grow in a soil containing lime (as calcium
hydroxide or lime).

• Hydrangeas have blue flowers when they grow in a lime-free soil (not alkaline)
 PH SCALE
• Acids and alkalis can either be strong or weak.
• To identify their strength we should measure their pH.
• pH means power of hydrogen because this element that is found in acids, is
considered to be the active part responsible for their chemical reaction.
• Soren Sorensen is a scientist that invented the pH scale.
• pH scale runs from 0 to 14.
 HOW TO MEASURE THE PH OF ACIDS AND ALKALIS
• To measure the pH of different substances we can use either a pH meter or a
universal indicator.
 UNIVERSAL INDICATOR
• Universal indicator is made from a mixture of indicators.
• It is the only indicator that can identify acids and alkalis as well as know the
strength (pH) of these substances because it gives a different color with each
different pH.
 NATURE OF SOME SUBSTANCES

Weak acids Strong acids Neutral Weak base Strong base

Ethanoic acid Hydrochloric Water Ammonia Sodium
Milk acid Ethanol Zinc hydroxide hydroxide
Lactic acid Sulfuric acid Sodium chloride Iron oxide Potassium
Ascorbic acid Nitric acid (any salt as Calcium hydroxide oxide
Methanoic acid Phosphoric acid sulfates, nitrates (lime water) Bleach
Citric acid chlorides ….) Sodium hydrogen Oven cleaner
carbonate
Calcium carbonate
 NEUTRALISATION REACTIONS

• When an acid reacts with an alkali, a reaction called neutralisation reaction occurs.
• It is called neutralisation reaction because the products that are produced in this
reaction are all neutral substances (salt and water).
• The general equation of this reaction is: acid + alkali → salt + water
• Usually to know the name of the salt, we should always take the first part of the
salt’s name from the alkali and the second part of the salt’s name from the acid.
 EXAMPLES OF NEUTRALISATION REACTIONS

• Sodium hydroxide + hydrochloric acid → sodium chloride + water

alkali acid salt
• potassium hydroxide + sulfuric acid → potassium sulfate + water
• Lithium oxide + nitric acid → lithium nitrate + water
• Calcium oxide + ethanoic acid → calcium ethanoate + water
• Magnesium hydroxide + citric acid → magnesium citrate + water
• Hydrochloric acid + iron oxide → iron chloride + water
acid alkali salt
 NEUTRALISATION REACTIONS USING CARBONATES

• Sodium hydrogen carbonate (sodium bicarbonate) which is known as baking soda

(used in baking cakes and bread) is not an alkali substance, but when it is dissolved
in water it produces a weak alkali solution.
• Sodium hydrogen carbonate reacts with acids as in a neutralisation reactions:
❑ sodium hydrogen carbonate + sulfuric acid → sodium sulfate + water + carbon
dioxide
❑ sodium hydrogen carbonate + hydrochloric acid → sodium + water + carbon
chloride dioxide
• Neutralisation reactions with other carbonates:
• Calcium carbonate + nitric acid → calcium nitrate + water + carbon dioxide
• Sulfuric acid +magnesium carbonate → magnesium sulfate+water + carbon dioxide

• Hydrochloric acid + zinc carbonate → zinc chloride + water + carbon dioxide

• Ethanoic acid + sodium carbonate → sodium ethanoate + water + carbon dioxide
 USES OF NEUTRALISATION REACTIONS

• Neutralisation reactions are very useful in our every day life:

1. Insect stings: a bee sting is acidic so it must be neutralised by soap which is alkali. A wasp
sting is alkaline and it must be neutralised with vinegar which is acid.
2. Curing indigestion: indigestion is caused by the stomach making too much acid
(hydrochloric acid) as it digests food.
It is cured by swallowing a tablet containing sodium bicarbonate (weak alkali). The sodium
bicarbonate will neutralize the hydrochloric acid that is produced from the stomach.
The equation of this reaction is:
Sodium hydrogen carbonate + hydrochloric acid → sodium chloride + carbon + water
dioxide
3. Baking a cake: to bake a cake, we add baking powder to the flour and water.
The baking powder contains a mixture of solid acid and sodium bicarbonate (alkali)
When mixed with water, the acid and the alkali will dissolve in the water so they will mix
and react together in a neutralisation reaction that produces carbon dioxide.
This carbon dioxide gas forms bubbles that makes the cake or bread rise and have a light
texture.
4.A model volcano: usually when students make a volcano they also make a lava.
To form a frothing lava, we should add one spoon of sodium bicarbonate powder (alkali) half
cup of vinegar (acid) with red dye.
When the alkali and the acid mix together, they will react in neutralisation reaction
producing salt (sodium ethanoate) water and carbon dioxide. The products will look like a
red frothing lava flowing down the volcano.
Equation: sodium hydrogen + ethanoic acid → sodium ethanoate + water + carbon
carbonate dioxide
5. Fighting a fire: the soda fire extinguisher contains a bottle of sulfuric acid and a
solution of sodium bicarbonate(alkali).
When the plunger is struck, the acid mixes with the alkali to make a neutralisation
reaction.
The reaction produces carbon dioxide gas that will make a big pressure to push the
water out of the extinguisher and onto the fire.

6. Improving crop growth: acidity in the soil affects the growth of crops. It makes
them produce less food.
Lime ( calcium hydroxide) is an alkali that is added to the soil to neutralise the
acidic soil.
 NATURAL RAIN

• The natural rain is slightly acidic having pH between 5 and 6.

• Water vapour high in the air condenses on dust particles to form huge numbers of
tiny water droplets.They reflect light in all direction and we see them as a cloud.
• Carbon dioxide present in the air dissolves in the rain water and forms a weak acid
called carbonic acid.
• When rain water falls on limestone rocks (alkali), the acid in the rain will react
with the limestone (calcium carbonate) and dissolve it away.
 AIR POLLUTION &
ACID RAIN
• Acid rain is dangerous. It is formed due to pollution. It has a pH less than 5 reaching 3.
• We have two kinds of acid rain: Sulfuric acid rain and Nitric acid rain
• How do they form?
➢Sulfuric acid: when coal and oil fuels that contain sulfur burn in power stations to generate
electricity, the sulfur will also burn and react with oxygen to produce sulfur dioxide gas.
This gas will be liberated into the atmosphere. Then sulfur dioxide gas reacts with water
vapour and oxygen in the air to produce sulfuric acid
sulfur + oxygen → sulfur dioxide
sulfur dioxide + water → sulfurous acid → sulfuric acid
with oxygen
• Nitric acid: when the petrol fuel in cars and trucks burn, it will produce oxides of
nitrogen as exhaust gases.These oxides of nitrogen will react with water vapour in
the air to form nitric acid.
nitrogen dioxide + water → nitric acid.
• What is the effect of acid rain?
• It causes leaching (washing away) of minerals from the soil. And it is known that
these minerals are essential for the healthy growth of plants.
• It causes the water in lakes and rivers to become acidic by lowering the pH of the
water.This will affect the lives of some aquatic organisms that can not tolerate to
live in acidic water.
• Acid rain cause aluminium to be leached from the soil and join the water.This
aluminium will affect the gills of the fish. So the fish will suffocate and die.
 SOLUTIONS OF ACID RAIN
• 1- adding lime ( calcium hydroxide) which is an alkali to soil, rivers and lakes that
have acidic water. But this method is expensive, and it must be used continuously
as long as there is acid rain.
• 2- A better way to remove the cause of the acid rain where it is being produced at
power stations.
They put units in the chimneys of the power stations that spray lime and water to
the sulfur dioxide gas being liberated to neutralize it. In this way, sulfur dioxide will
not reach the atmosphere.
The reaction: calcium hydroxide + sulfuric acid → calcium sulfate + water
Calcium Sulfate is known as gypsum that is used to for building and to make Plaster
of Paris ( used to support broken limbs in hospitals).
• For cars and trucks, they put for the engines a device called catalytic converter
that change the oxides of nitrogen into a nitrogen which is a gas that is already
found in the atmosphere. So no more oxides of nitrogen gases will be liberated into
the atmosphere.
THE END