ACIDS, BASES AND SALTS

Acids:
An acid is a proton (H+) donor. It dissolves in water to produce H+ ions. Its pH will be less than 7.
Basicity of an acid:
It is the number of replaceable hydrogen atom present in one acid molecule.
Eg., HCl  H+ + Cl- [mono basic acid, number of replaceable hydrogen atom =1]
H2SO4  2H+ + SO4-2 [dibasic acid, number of replaceable hydrogen atom = 2]
H3PO4  3H+ + PO4-3 [tribasic acid, number of replaceable hydrogen atom =3]

Properties of acids:
 Acids turn blue litmus red
 Acids react with metals above hydrogen in the reactivity series to produce hydrogen and salt.
Metal displaces hydrogen from the acid.
eg. Mg + 2HCl  MgCl2 + H2
 Acids react with carbonates to produce CO2.
eg. Na2CO3 + 2 HCl  NaCl + CO2 + H2O
Neutralization reactions:
 Acids react with metal oxides and hydroxides (bases)
eg. MgO + 2HCl  MgCl2 + H2O
NaOH + HCl  NaCl + H2O

Examples of acid reactions

Acid + Product Example
Metal salt + hydrogen sodium + hydrochloric acid  sodium chloride + hydrogen

Metal salt + water potassium hydroxide + nitric acid  pottasium nitrate + water
hydroxide
Metal oxide salt + water copper (II) oxide + sulphuric acid  copper (II) sulphate +
water
Metal salt + water + calcium carbonate + nitric acid  calcium nitrate + water +
carbon dioxide
carbonate carbon dioxide

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Test for acids using various indicators
Indicator Results
Blue litmus Turns red
Red litmus No change
Phenolphthalein No change/remains colourless
Methyl orange Red/Orange colour
Universal indicator Strong acids Weak acids
Red Yellow orange

pH meter <2 3-6

Strong and weak acids:

The acids which completely ionize (dissociate) in water to give H+ ions are called strong acids. They
produce a very high concentration of H+ ions in water.
eg. HCl, HNO3, H2SO4
HCl  H+ + Cl-
The acids which partially ionize (dissociate) in water to give H+ ions are called weak acids. They
produce a low concentration of H+ ions in water.

eg. CH3COOH CH3COO- + H+

Lower the pH the stronger will be the acid.

Concentrated and dilute acids:

A concentrated acid has very little water in it whereas a dilute acid has more water in it.

Bases:
It is a proton acceptor. It neutralises an acid producing a salt and water.
eg. NaOH, KOH, Ca(OH)2, Fe2O3, CuO, MgO, PbO

Alkali:
If the base is soluble, it is called an alkali. It gives out OH- ions when dissolved in water.
eg. . NaOH, KOH, Ca(OH)2
NaOH  Na+ + OH-

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Properties of alkali:
 All alkalis are soluble in water (oxides of group 1)
 They all react with acids to form salt and water (neutralisation reaction)
acid + alkali (a base)  salt + water
hydrochloric acid + sodium hydroxide  sodium chloride + water
HCl(aq) + NaOH (aq)  NaCl(aq) + H2O(l)

 All alkali's except ammonia (NH3), react with ammonium compounds liberating ammonia.
This reaction is used for the laboratory preparation of ammonia.
Ca(OH)2 + 2NH4Cl  CaCl2 + 2 H2O + 2 NH3
Examples of base reactions
Base + Product Example
acid salt + water potassium hydroxide + nitric acid  potassium nitrate + water
(neutralisation)
acid salt + water calcium oxide + hydrochloric acid  calcium chloride + water
(neutralisation)
Ammonium salt + water + calcium hydroxide + ammonium chloride  calcium chloride +
ammonia
compound water + ammonia
(displacement)

Test for bases using various indicators

Indicator Results
Blue litmus No change
Red litmus Turns blue
Phenolphthalein Turns pink
Methyl orange Turns yellow
Universal indicator Strong acids Weak acids
violet blue

pH meter 13-14 8-12

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 Writing Ionic equations for neutralization reaction

Eg: HCl(aq) + NaOH (aq)  NaCl(aq) + H2O(l)

Write an equation showing all ions
H+(aq) + Cl-(aq) + Na+(aq) + OH-(aq)  Na+(aq) + Cl- (aq) + H2O(l)
Strike off the common ions
H+(aq) + Cl-(aq) + Na+(aq) + OH-(aq)  Na+(aq) + Cl- (aq) + H2O(l)
therefore the net reaction is
H+(aq) + OH-(aq)  H2O(l)
All the reaction between an acid and an alkali can be summarised by the above equation.

Strong and weak bases:

The alkali which completely ionize (dissociate) in water are known as strong base.
Eg: NaOH  Na++ OH-
The alkalis which partially ionize (dissociate) in water are called weak bases.

Eg: ( Aqueous ammonia) NH3 + H2O NH4+ + OH-

pH scale:
pH scale runs from below o to 14. A substance with a pH of less than 7 is an acid, one with a
pH greater than 7 is alkaline, one with pH 7 is neutral. Water is a neutral substance.

0 1 2 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

Dil. HCl Lemon milk Tooth Ammonia, Oven

juice paste bleach cleaner,
dil. sodium
hydroxide
Orange juice, Water, Lime
vinegar salt water
solution

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 The pH of the substance can be found by the following methods.
a) Using a pH meter: The electrode of the pH meter is kept in the solution and the reading is
given on digital display.
b) Using a universal indicator: It is a mixture of indicators. The colour shown by this indicator is
matched against a pH scale. It gives a red colour with a very strong acid, a green colour with a
neutral solution and a violet colour with a strong alkali.
c) The following indicator or litmus can be used to find out whether a substance is acidic or
alkaline.

Indicator Acidic Basic

Methyl orange Orange Yellow
Phenolphthalein Colourless Pink
Litmus Acidic Basic
Blue Red Blue
Red red Blue

Importance of controlling acidity of the soil

Soil may become acidic because:
 acid rain
 use of fertilizers containing ammonium salts
 formation of acids when bacteria and fungi break down organic matter.
How to reduce soil acidity?
Add powdered or crushed lime stone ( CaCO3) , lime (CaO) or slaked lime ( Ca(OH)2) to soil in
limited quantity, which can control soil acidity.

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Oxides:
Oxides of elements are classified into
a) basic oxide b) acidic oxide c) amphoteric oxide d) neutral oxide

a) Basic oxide: They are oxides of metals which produce basic solutions. They react with acids to
form salt and water.
eg. Na2O, K2O, CaO
Na2O + 2 HCl  2 NaCl + H2O
MgO + H2O  Mg(OH)2
b) Acidic oxide: They are oxides of non-metals which produce acidic solutions. They react with
bases to form salt and water.
eg. CO2, NO2, SO2, SiO2, P2O5
SiO2 is insoluble in water, but will react with bases.
CO2 + 2 NaOH  Na2CO3 + H2O
c) Neutral oxide: They are oxides of elements which produce neutral solutions. They do not react
with acid or alkali.
eg. NO (nitrogen monoxide), CO, H2O
d) Amphoteric oxides and hydroxides: They can react with both acids and bases. They behave
both like basic oxide and acidic oxide.
eg. ZnO or Zn(OH)2, Al2O3 or Al(OH)3, PbO or Pb(OH)2

Salts:
The product formed along with water in a neutralization reaction is called a salt. Its pH is 7. Salts can
be classified as soluble and insoluble according to its solubility in water. The following salts are
soluble
a. all nitrates are souluble
b. all common sodium, potassium and ammonium salts are soluble.
c. all chlorides except lead, silver and mercury are soluble.
d. all sulfates except lead, calcium and barium are soluble.

All carbonates except sodium , potassium and ammonium carbonates are insoluble

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Preparation of Soluble salts:
1. SALTS OF MODERATIVELY REACTIVE METALS
Soluble salts of MAZIT metals (Magnesium, Aluminium, Zinc, Iron, Tin) can be prepared by treating
acids with 4 different reagents.
Acid + metal
Acid + carbonate
Acid + metal oxide
Acid + metal hydroxide
Procedure
For example to prepare magnesium nitrate following steps are conducted.
eg. Mg + 2 HNO3  Mg(NO3)2 + H2

Steps
i. Add excess magnesium metal (or magnesium carbonate or magnesium oxide or magnesium
hydroxide) to a known volume of nitric acid.
ii. If magnesium oxide or magnesium hydroxide is used slight warming is necessary.
iii. Continue the addition of magnesium metal ( or magnesium carbonate) until there is no bubbles
of gas or until unreacted magnesium metal (or magnesium carbonate or magnesium oxide or
magnesium hydroxide) settles at the bottom of the container.
iv. If magnesium oxide or hydroxide is used there is no gas evolution.
v. Filter the unreacted magnesium metal(or magnesium carbonate or magnesium oxide or
magnesium hydroxide).
vi. Filtrate is evaporated to crystallization point, left to cool until crystals separate
vii. Crystals are filtered, washed with distilled water and dried.

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 2. SALTS OF HIGHLY REACTIVE METALS
Salts of highly reactive metals like sodium potassium are made by TITRATION method [acid +alkali].

Procedure
For example to prepare sodium chloride following steps are conducted.
eg. NaOH + HCl  NaCl + H2O (phenolphthalein as indicator)

H+(aq) + OH-(aq)  H2O(l)

Steps
i. Dilute hydrochloric acid is taken in the burette.
ii. 25 ml of dilute sodium hydroxide is taken in the conical flask
iii. Few drops of an indicator (eg. Phenolphthalein) is added to the conical flask
iv. Now the acid is added drop by drop to the conical flask from the burette till the end point is
reached; the volume of acid is noted
v. End point is marked by the colour change of the solution from pink to colourless.
vi. The titration is repeated without using the indicator and same volume of acid is added.
viii. The solution which is produced can then be evaporated slowly crystallization point, left to cool
until crystals separate.
ix. Crystals are filtered, washed with distilled water and dried.

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3.SALTS OF VERY LESS REACTIVE METALS
Salts of less reactive metals like copper and lead are prepared by neutralizing an insoluble base with an
acid.
Procedure
For example to prepare copper (II) sulphate following steps are conducted.
H2SO4 + CuO  CuSO4 + H2
Steps
i. Add excess copper oxide to a known volume of sulfuric acid and the solution is warmed
ii. Continue the addition of copper oxide until unreacted copper oxide settles at the bottom of the
container.
iii. Filter the copper oxide
iv. Filtrate which is aqueous copper sulfate (blue in colour)is evaporated to crystallization point,
left to cool until crystals separate.
v. Crystals are filtered, washed with distilled water and dried

Preparation of insoluble salt

 It is prepared by precipitation method.
 Solutions of two soluble salts are mixed to get a precipitate (insoluble substance).
 The precipitate is filtered, washed with distilled water and dried.
 This method is known as double displacement

soluble salt (AX) + soluble salt (BY)  insoluble salt (AY) + soluble salt (BX)

eg. Barium chloride + sodium sulphate  barium sulphate + sodium chloride

BaCl2 + Na2SO4  BaSO4 + NaCl

Writing Ionic equation for precipitation reactions.

Eg: AgNO3 (aq) + NaCl (aq)  AgCl (s) + NaNO3(aq)
Ag+ + NO3- + Na+ + Cl-  AgCl + Na+ + NO3-
Ag+ (aq) + Cl- (aq)  AgCl (s)

Dept of chemistry/Al noor international school

Dept of chemistry/Al noor international school