MODULE 2

ENG 201

SOLUTION
CHEMISTRY
2.4. ACIDS AND BASES: pH and pOH
DEPARTMENT OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING
UNIVERSITY OF SANTO TOMAS
MANILA, PHILIPPINES
This PowerPoint presentation is developed
based from the following references:

• Masterton, W. L., & Hurley, C. N. (2004). Chemistry: principles

and reactions. Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole.

• Chang, R. (2010). Chemistry. Boston: McGraw-Hill.

• Silberberg, M. S. (2013). Principles of general chemistry. New

York: McGraw-Hill.

• Jespersen, N. D., Brady, J. E., & Hyslop, A. (2012). Study

guide Chemistry: the molecular nature of matter. Hoboken, NJ:
John Wiley.

• TED-Ed. [Zaidan, G., & Morton, C.]. (2013, Oct 24). The
strengths and weaknesses of acids and bases [Video].
Youtube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DupXDD87oHc&t=116s

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Define strong acids and bases using
Arrhenius theory and Bronsted-Lowry.

Define pH and pOH.

Perform pH calculations with

strong acids and bases.

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ACID BASE

✓ Sour ✓ Bitter
✓ Burning effect ✓ Soapy

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ACID BASE
substance that has H in its substance that has OH in its
formula and dissociates in formula and dissociates in
water to yield H3O+ ( or H+) water to yield OH-

HCl + H2 O → H3 O+ + Cl−
HCl → H + + Cl−
LIMITATIONS
▪ Even though some substances do not have OH- in their
formulas, they still behave as bases.
▪ Water has to be the solvent of acid – base reactions.

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ACID BASE
-
+

▪ Proton donor ▪ Proton acceptor

▪ Any species that donates H+ ion ▪ Any species that accepts H+ ion
▪ Must contain H in its formula ▪ Must contain a lone pair of electrons to bind
the H+ ion
*All Arrhenius acids are Bronsted – Lowry acids.

LIMITATION aprotic
▪ Only applies to protic species Lewis

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 MODEL DEFINITION OF ACID DEFINITION OF BASE
Arrhenius H+ producer OH- producer
Bronsted – Lowry H+ donor H+ acceptor

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RELATIVE STRENGTHS
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1. Strong Acids
▪ Dissociate completely into ions in water
HA + H2O(l) H3O+(aq) + A-(aq)
▪ Hydrohalic acids → HCl, HBr, and HI
▪ Oxoacids in which the number of O atoms exceed the number of
ionizable protons by two or more → HClO4, HNO3, H2SO4

2. Weak Acids
▪ Dissociate very slightly into ions in water

HA(aq) + H2O(l) H3O+(aq) + A-(aq)

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1. Strong Bases
▪ Dissociate completely into ions in water
MOH + H2O (l) M+(aq) + OH-(aq)
▪ M2O or MOH where M = group 1A metals (Li, Na, K, Rb, Cs)
▪ MO or M(OH)2 where M = group 2A metals (Ca, Sr, Ba)

2. Weak Bases
▪ Dissociate very slightly into ions in water

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▪ Power of Hydrogen
▪ Measure of the strength of the acid or base character
of a substance

ACID BASE

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 pH = -log [H+] = -log [H3O+]
▪ The number of decimal places of pH
is equal to the number of significant
figures in [H3O+]

pH [H3O+]

ACIDIC

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 pOH = -log [OH-]

▪ At 25⁰C,
pH + pOH =14

▪ At low pH, low [OH-] → acidic

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What is the pH of an HCl solution with a molarity of 1.5 x 10-4?
pH = -log [H+] = -log [H3O+]

BASIS: 1 L Soln H Cl H+ Cl-

1.5 x 10-4 mol
1 mol H+
mol H + = 1.5 −4
× 10 mol HCl × 1 mol HCl = 1.5 × 10−4 mol H +

1.5 × 10−4 mol H +

H+ =
1 L soln
pH = − log 1.5 × 10−4 M = 3.82

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 pH meter

pH (indicator) paper

Titration
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Litmus Paper Lichens

Red Cabbage

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NO SMELL = BASE

NO CHANGE = ACID

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 Phenolphthalein

Universal Indicator

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Wear your thinking cap and prepare your calculator, pen, and paper.

Let’s go!
Are you ready?
Are you sure you’re ready?

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1. Calculate the pH of 0.10 M H2SO4.
2. Calculate the pH of a 5.0 x 10-2 M NaOH.
3. Determine the pH of the HCl solution in the chemical cabinet that
is 27% by mass. (Density of H2O = 1 g/cm3, Density of HCl = 1.150
g/ cm3).
4. Sheldon Cooper, a researcher, obtained a solution with [H 3O+] =
2.3 x 10-4 M at 25oC after mixing HCl (g) with pure H2O. Determine
the concentration of the hydroxide ions. Is the solution neutral,
acidic, or basic?
5. Sherlock Holmes is restoring an art artifact. He proceeded by
diluting nitric acid to 1.8 M, 0.25 M, and 0.0058 M. Calculate the
hydronium ion concentration, pH, hydroxide ion concentration,
and pOH of the 3 solutions.

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