Acids and Bases

• The term acid comes from the Latin word “acidus” meaning
“sour”.
• Acids change the blue litmus paper to red and also corrode
metals.
• Arrhenius definition of an acid are substances that produce
hydrogen ions (H+) when dissolved in water.
• They are considered as electrolytes since they ionize in
water
Source: Timberlake, K.C., Orgill, M. (2021). General, Organic, and Biological Chemistry (6th ed). PEARSON
• Arrhenius definition of a base are compounds that
dissociate into cations and hydroxide ions (OH-) when
dissolve in water.
• Turns litmus paper into colored blue
• Bases have common characteristics such as bitter taste and
slippery feel due to the presence of hydroxide ions (OH-)
• Most Arrhenius bases are formed from Groups 1 and 2
metals (alkali and alkaline earth metals)
• Example these bases are the following: NaOH, KOH, LiOH,
Ca(OH)2
• A more expanded definition of acids and bases that
includes bases that do not contain OH- ions
• The Bronsted-Lowry definition of acid and bases
centers on the hydrogen ion, H+ (proton)
• A Brønsted–Lowry acid is a substance that donates
H+.
• A Brønsted–Lowry base is a substance that accepts
H+.
• Free H+, rarely occurs in water. Its attraction to
polar water molecules is so strong that the H+
bonds to a water molecule and forms a hydronium
ion, H3O+.
Example: HCl solution
Example: ammonia solution
• Conjugate acid-base pair consists of molecules or ions
related by the loss of one H+ by an acid, and the gain of one
H+ by a base.
• A conjugate acid is formed when the compound gains H+
• A conjugate base is formed when the compound loses H+
Example 1
HF, an acid, loses one H+ to form its conjugate base F-.
Water acts as a base by gaining one H+ to form its conjugate acid H3O+.
Example 2: Ammonia, NH3, acts as a base when it gains one H+ to form its
conjugate acid NH4+. Water acts as an acid by losing one H+ to form its
conjugate base OH-.
• Substances that can act as both acid and bases depending
on the other reactant.
• Common example of an amphoteric substance is water.
• Water donates H+ when it reacts with a stronger base, and
it accepts H+ when it reacts with a stronger acid.
• The strength of an acid is determined by the moles of H3O+
that are produce for each mole of acid dissolves
• The strength of a base is determined by the moles of OH-
that are produced for each mole of base that dissolves
• Strong acids and strong bases dissociate completely in
water
• Weak acid and bases dissociate slightly in water, leaving
most of the initial acid or base undissociated.
Strong acids are examples of strong electrolyte because they
donate H+ easily and dissociation in water is 100 percent.
For example, HCl completely dissociates in water, producing H3O+
and Cl-
HCl(g) + H2O(l)  H3O+(aq) + Cl-(aq)
Weak acids are weak electrolytes because they dissociate slightly
in water forming only small amounts of H3O+ ions
Even at high concentrations, weak acids will still produce low
concentrations of H3O+ ions.
Strong bases completely
dissociates in water, thus
making them strong
electrolytes
Strong bases dissociate in
water to give an aqueous
solution of metal ions and
hydroxide ions.
Weak bases does not completely dissociate in water and are
considered as weak electrolytes.
They are poor acceptors of hydrogen ions and produce very few
ions in solutions.
An example is ammonia NH3., In aqueous solution, only a few
ammonia molecules accept hydrogen ions to form NH4+ and OH-
Acids and bases have different strengths depending on how much they
dissociate in water.
An acid dissociation expression and a base dissociation expression can
be written for weak acids that gives the ratio of the concentrations of
the products to the reactants.
From the these dissociation expression, an acid dissociation constant
can be derived (Ka) and also a base dissociation constant (Kb)
Acid dissociation constant, (Ka), and base dissociation constant (Kb) are
measure of an acid and base strengths, respectively. Both values are
determined experimentally.
In general, weak acids and bases have small dissociation constants
compared to stronger acids and bases
Water can act both as an acid and a base this makes them amphoteric.
In pure water, one water molecule acts as an acid by losing H+ and
another water molecule acts as a base by accepting the H+
This reaction between water molecules produces H3O+ and OH-
compounds
H2O(l) + H2O(l)  H3O+(aq) + OH-(aq)
Basing on the reaction, the water dissociation expression can be written
as
Kw = [H3O+][OH-]
Experiments determined that in pure water, the concentration of H3O+

and OH- at 25°C are 1.0 x 10-7 M
Substituting the value in the water dissociation expression will give us
the water dissociation constant Kw = 1.0 x 10-14 at 25°C
When the [H3O+] and [OH-] in a solution are equal, the
solution is neutral. However, most solutions are not neutral;
they have different concentrations of H3O+ and OH-.
In acidic solutions the concentration of H3O+ is increased
while the [OH-] concentration is decreased
In basic solutions the concentration of H3O+ is decreased
while the [OH-] concnetration is increased
However, for any aqeous solution, whether neutral, acidic,
or basic the product between the concentrations of the
H3O+ and OH- is eqaul to 1.0 x 10-14 (Kw)
If we know the [H3O+] of a solution, we can use the Kw to
calculate [OH-]. If we know the [OH-] of a solution, we can
calculate [H3O+] from their relationship in the Kw
A vinegar solution has a [OH-] = 5.0 x 10-12 M at 25 °C. What
is the [H3O+] of the vinegar solution? Is the solution acidic,
basic, or neutral?
[H3O+] of 2.0 x 10-3 M is larger than the [OH-] of 5.0 x 10-12 , the solution is acidic
Is a measure of the acidity or basicity of water.
pH can mean potential of hydrogen or the power of
hydrogen. The concept was introduced by a Danish chemist,
Sorensen.
pH is a more convenient way in expressing acidity.
Knowing the pH is necessary in many biological and
ecological process.
Source: https://www.usgs.gov/media/images/ph-scale-0
A pH scale is a measurement of pH that has a number
between 0 to 14 and represents the H3O+ concentration for
common solutions.
Neutral solution has a pH of 7.0 at 25°C
Acidic solution has pH of less than 7.0 at 25°C
Basic solution has pH greater that 7.0 at 25°C
There are many ways to measure the pH of a solution one
of which is the use of a pH meter. Another is the use of pH
papers (litmus paper), and other is by the use of indicators.
Are substances whose solutions
change color due to changes in pH.
They are usually weak acids or
bases, but their conjugate base or
acid forms have different colors due
to differences in their absorption
spectra.
https://chem.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Physical_and_Theoretical_Chemistry_Textbook_Maps/Supplemental_Modules_(Physical_and_Theoretical_Chemistry)/Acids_and_B
ases/Acid/Indicators#:~:text=Indicators%20are%20substances%20whose%20solutions,differences%20in%20their%20absorption%20spectra.
When we relate acidity and pH, we are using an inverse
relationship, which is when one component increases while
the other component decreases.
When an acid is added to pure water, the [H3O+] (acidity) of
the solution increases but its pH decreases. When a base is
added to pure water, it becomes more basic, which means
its acidity decreases and the pH increases.
A pH scale is a measurement of pH that has a number
between 0 to 14 and represents the H+ concentration for
common solutions.
The molar concentration of H+ in an aqueous solution is
usually very small.
Because of this [H+] is expressed in terms of pH which is
given the following equation:
pH = -log[H+]
If Ka = 1.0 x 10-7,
pH = -log[H+]
• The pH decrease as [H+] increase

(acidic, pH is less than 7)
• The pH increase as [H+] decrease

(basic, pH is greater than 7)
Aspirin, which is acetylsalicylic acid, was the first nonsteroidal anti-
inflammatory drug (NSAID) used to alleviate pain and fever.
If a solution of aspirin has a [H3O+] = 1.7 * 10-3 M, what is the pH of
the solution?
Note: In a pH value, the number to the left of the decimal point is an exact number
derived from the power of 10. Thus, the number of decimal places in the pH value is the
same as the number of significant figures of the concentration of [H3O+] or [H+]
Note: In a pH value, the number to the left of the decimal
point is an exact number derived from the power of 10. Thus,
the number of decimal places in the pH value is the same as
the number of significant figures of the concentration of
[H3O+] or [H+]
What is the pH of an ammonia solution with
[OH-] = 3.7 x 10-3 M?
Solution:
1. Use the Kw equation to solve for the [H3O+]
concentration.
2. Substitute the [H3O+] value into the pH equation
Brown, T.L., LeMay, H.E.Jr, Bursten, B.E., Murphy, C.J., Woodward, P.M., Stoltzfus, M.W. (2015). Chemistry: the central science (13th
ed). PEARSON
pH meter – an instrument used to measure pH. This is a
more accurate way to determine the pH of a solution
- pH meters consists a pair of electrodes connected to a
meter capable of measuring small voltages. The voltage is
read by the pH meter. The voltage varies for every solution
thus varying the pH reading.
Acid-base Indictors are also used to measure pH.
Acid-base indicators are colored substances that can exist in
either an acid or base form. It produces different colors
depending on the pH of the solution
Buffers – are solutions that is used to maintain the pH of
solutions by neutralizing small amounts of acid or base.
Buffers contain an acid to react with any OH- that is added and
also a base to be available to react with any H3O+ that is added.
However, the acids and bases present in the buffer must not
neutralize each other, thus buffers contain a combination of an
acid-base conjugate pair.
Most buffer solutions consist of nearly equal concentration of a
weak acid and a salt containing its conjugate base
Other buffers contain a weak base and the salt of the weak base
that contains its conjugate acid.
Example: Acetic acid [HC3H3O2] and its salt, sodium acetate
(NaC2H3O2)
When a small amount of acid is added, the additional H3O+

combines with the acetate ion, HC3H3O2 - ,causing the
equilibrium to shift in the direction of the reactants, acetic
acid and water.
The shift will cause a slight decrease in the [HC3H3O2 -] and
a slight increase in the [HC3H3O2], but both he [H3O+] and
pH are maintained
If a small amount of base is added to this same buffer
solution, it is neutralized by the acetic acid, HC2H3O2,
which shifts the equilibrium in the direction of the products,
acetate ion and water.
The [HC2H3O2] decreases slightly and the [C2H3O2-]

increases slightly, but again the [H3O+] and thus the pH of
the solution are maintained.
As long as the addition of small amounts of either
acid or base changes the ratio of the weak
acid/conjugate base on slightly, the changes of the
[H3O+] will be small and pH is maintained.
If large amount of acid or base is added in the system,
the buffer capacity might exceed and can cause pH
changes.
The pH pf the buffer solution will depend on the
conjugate acid-base pair chosen.
Other buffers can be prepare from the
following conjugate acid-base pairs
- 2-
H2PO4 /HPO4
2- 3-
HPO4 /PO4
- 2-
HCO3 /CO3
+
NH4 /NH3
Neutralization is a reaction between a acids and bases to produce
salt and water.
The H+ of the acid and the OH- of the base combine to form
water.
The salt is the combination of the cation from the base and the
anion from the acid
An analytical method used to determine the concentration of an
unknown solution from a known solution (titrant)
Acid-base titration is a specific kind of titration which involves the
neutralization reactions. An indicator is used to detect the end
point of titration or the point where moles of acid completely
react with the moles of the base.

Acids and Bases

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• The term acid comes from the Latin word “acidus” meaning

Experiments determined that in pure water, the concentration of H3O+

• The pH decrease as [H+] increase

• The pH increase as [H+] decrease

When a small amount of acid is added, the additional H3O+

The [HC2H3O2] decreases slightly and the [C2H3O2-]

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