Tutorial Acid and Alkalinity (Base) – Chapter 2 

FCH Summary 

1. Acids is a substance which furnishes hydrogen ions (H+) when dissolved in water . For
example, in its aqueous solution hydrochloric HCI (aq) dissociates as : HCL (aq) = H+ (aq) +
CI- (aq)

   Example :
    i) Hydrochloric acid (HCI) in gastric juice 
    ii) Carbonic acid (H2CO3) in soft drinks
    iii) Ascorbic acid (vitamin C) in lemon and many fruits
    iv) Citric acid in oranges and lemons
    v) Acetic acid in vigenar
    vi) Tannic acid in tea

 Common in our everyday life is like acetic acid (vinegar) , citric acid (lemon) , sodium
bicarbonate and many more
 Acid that found in the chemistry laboratory is like hydrochloric acid HCL , sulphuric
acid H2SO4 , nitric acid HNO3 and many more 

2. Basicity of acid of an acid is defined as the number of replaceable hydrogen atoms of that
particular acid by a base . This should not be misinterpreted as the number of hydrogen
atoms in that acid . For example , Hypophosphorous Acid H3PO2 has # hydrogen atoms but
only one replaceable hydrogen .

3. Base is substance which furnishes hydroxide ions (OH-) when dissolved in water . For
example , sodium hydroxide NaOH (aq) , in its aqueous solutions , dissociates as : NaOH
(aq) = Na+ (aq) + OH- (aq)

Example ;
i) Sodium hydroxide (NaOH) or caustic soda used in washing soaps
ii) Potassium hydroxide (KOH) or potash used in bathing soap
iii) Calcium hydroxide (Ca(OH)2) or lime water used in while wash
iv) Magnesium hydroxide (Mg(OH)2) or milk of magnesia used to control acidity
v) Ammonium hydroxide (NH4OH) used in hair dyes .

 Alkalis that common in our everyday life is like a drain cleaner , laundry detergent ,
grease , sugar and many more 
 Alkalis that commonly used in the chemistry laboratory is like a sodium hydroxide ,
potassium hydroxide , ammonia , and many more 
4. a) Aqueous acids
 Aqueous solutions of acids are electrolytes , meaning that they conduct electrical
current . Some acids are strong electrolytes because they ionize completely in
water , yielding a great many ions . Other acids are weak electrolytes that exist
primarily in a non-ionized form when dissolved in water .
 Acids have a sour taste . Lemons , vinegar , and sour candies all contain acids

     b) Alkali
 Alkali have bitter taste and slippery soapy feel
  Alkaline solution have pH values greater than 7 . (More about pH value in the next
sub-topic)

5. a) Three Reaction of Acids

 Synthesis reaction 
 Decomposition reactions
 Single-replacement reactions

     b) Two Reactions of Bases

 Neutralisation reaction
 Reaction with ammonium salt


6. 

7. The pH Scale.. 

Example:
 pH plays a very important role in the digestion of food in our stomach . In the
stomach , the secretion of hydrochloric acid happens which changes the stomach pH
between one to three and this pH range is responsible for the activation of the pepsin
enzyme which will digest the food .

8. When dealing with range of concentrations (such as these of H+ (aq) ions) that spans many
powers of ten , it is convenient to represent them on a more compressed logarithmic scale .
By convention , we use the pH scale for denoting the concentration of hydrogen ions . pH
 notation was devised by the Danish biochemist Soren Sorensen in 1909 . The term pH
means “power of hydrogen”

9. 4.0 g of sodium hydroxide , NaOH is dissolved in enough water to make 200 cm3 of solution.
What is the concentration of the solution in per dm3?

Solution :

 Example: 
 Answer: 

Concentration of solution 

 = Mass of solute (g) / Volume of solution (dm3)

= 4.0 g / 200 / 1000 dm3
= 20 g dm-3

10. Formula Relationship between mol / m and g / dm

-3 -3

- to control from mol / dm3 to g / dm3 , multiply by the relative formula mass
- to convert from g / dm3 to mol / dm3 , divide by the relative formula mass

Remember : the molar mass is the Ar or Mr in grams per mol.

Example :

Calculate the concentration of 0.1 mol / dm3 sodium hydroxide solution in g / dm3 .

(Mr of NaOH = 40)

= 4 g / dm3

Note: 
to points no.9 & no.10 find the formula and another example of question.