ACIDS AND BASES

IONIZATION
BY: DR. ELYN M. DIMAGIBA
ACIDS AND BASES IONIZATION
⮚Some acids are completely ionized in water and are referred to as strong
acids.
⮚Others are partially ionized and are called weak acids.
⮚Strong acids are handled carefully because they can cause severe damage to
skin, and destroy synthetic fibers like polyester and nylon.
⮚Examples of strong acids are hydrochloric acid (HCl), sulfuric acid (H2SO4)
and nitric acid (HNO3).
⮚Weak acids are usually organic compounds which are the type of acids found
in biological systems, for example, acetic acid (HC2H3O2) and citric acid
(H3C6H5O7).
⮚Consider the chemical equation of HCl when placed in water:
HCl (aq) H+ (aq) + Cl – (aq) (complete ionization)
⮚The reaction is having only a forward arrow indicating that there are no
HCl molecules in dilute water solution of hydrochloric acid once it ionized
but only H+ ions and Cl – ions.
⮚A water solution of HC2H3O2 dissociates according to the equation:
HC2H3O2 (aq) H+ (aq) + C 2H3O2- (aq) (partial ionization)
⮚Since the acid is only partially dissociated, there is a double arrow in the
reaction.
⮚It means that there are undissociated HC2H3O2 molecules in addition to H+
ions and C2H3O2- ions in solution.
⮚The three species are present in solution.
⮚Bases are also classified as strong when completely ionized and weak when
they are partially ionized.
⮚Examples of strong bases are sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and potassium
hydroxide (KOH).
⮚Weak bases are ammonia (NH3) and other nitrogen containing organic
compounds.
⮚Consider the chemical equation of NaOH when placed in water:
NaOH (aq) Na+ (aq) + OH – (aq) (complete ionization)
⮚The reaction goes to completion that is why an arrow forward is used.
⮚It means that no undissociated species of NaOH is found in the solution, only
Na+ ions and OH – ions.
⮚Weak bases do not supply OH- ions directly by dissociation.
⮚The OH- ions are generated by the reaction of weak base with water, which
also forms a weak acid.
⮚For example, the general reaction for NH3 is:
NH3(aq) + H2O (l) NH4+ (aq) + OH- (aq) (partial ionization)

Weak Base Weak Acid

⮚The reaction does not reach completion as seen in the double arrow.
⮚Once NH3 molecules are placed in water, it forms NH4+ ions and only a few
OH - ions are formed.
⮚Most of the NH3 molecules remained unreacted which means that there is only
a very few NH3 species.
⮚ All weak acids and bases have its dissociation constants: Ka for acids and
Kb for bases.
⮚For example, Ka for citric acid is 8.4 x 10-4 and Kb for ammonia is also 1.8
x 10-5.
⮚Strong acids and bases do not have ionization constants because they are
completely ionized (100% turns into ions).
⮚These ionization constants are used in computing the pH and pOH of the
solutions for weak acids and bases.
Acid-Base Properties of Salts
⮚A salt is an ionic compound formed by the reaction between an acid and a
base.
⮚This reaction is called neutralization.
⮚For example, hydrochloric acid is added with sodium hydroxide, the products
are sodium chloride and water as shown in the chemical reaction:

HCl(aq) + NaOH (aq) NaCl(s) + H2O(l)

Acid Base Salt Water
⮚The different types of salts based on the combination of the kind of acid and
base are the following:
1. Neutral Salt is formed when a strong acid reacts with a strong base (for example,
sodium chloride (NaCl), potassium chloride (KCl), and potassium nitrate (KNO3).
When the salt dissolves in water, it dissociates completely and the solution is
neutral.
⮚Consider the chemical reaction:
H2O
NaNO3 (aq) Na+ (aq) + NO3- (aq)
⮚The hydrated Na+ ion neither donates nor accepts H+ ions.
⮚The NO3- ion is the conjugate base of a strong acid HNO3, and it has no affinity
for H+ ions.
⮚Consequently, a solution containing Na+ and NO3- ions is neutral, with a pH of 7.
Salts containing an alkali metal ion like Na+ ion or alkaline earth metal ion
(except Be2+) and the conjugate base of a strong acid (for example, Cl -, Br -, and
NO3-) do not undergo hydrolysis, and their solutions are also neutral.
2. Acidic Salt is produced when a strong acid reacts with a weak base (for example, ammonium
chloride (NH4Cl) and ammonium nitrate (NH4NO3).
⮚ When the salt dissolves in water, it dissociates completely and the solution becomes acidic.
⮚ For example, consider the chemical reaction:
H2 O
NH4Cl(s) NH4+(aq) + Cl-(aq)
⮚ The Cl- ion has no affinity for H+ ions. The ammonium ion NH4+ is the weak conjugate
acid of the weak base NH3 and ionizes as follows:
NH4+ (aq) + H2O (l) NH3(aq) + H3O+(aq)

or simply , NH4+ (aq) NH3(aq) + H+ (aq)

⮚ Since this reaction produces H+ ions, the pH of the solution decreases and becomes less
than pH of 7 which makes the solution acidic.
3. Basic Salt is made when a strong base reacts with a weak acid, like for example,
potassium nitrite (KNO2) and sodium acetate (CH3COONa).
⮚ When the salt dissolves in water, it ionizes completely and the solution becomes basic.
⮚ The dissociation of sodium acetate (CH3COONa) in water is given by
H2O
CH3COONa(s) Na+ (aq) + CH3COO - (aq)
⮚ The hydrated Na+ ion has no acidic or basic properties. The acetate ion (CH3COO -),
however, is the conjugate base of the weak acid CH3COOH and therefore has
an affinity for H+ ions.
⮚ The hydrolysis reaction is given by
CH3COO - (aq) + H2O(l) CH3COOH(aq) + OH - (aq)
⮚ Because this reaction produces OH - ions, the sodium acetate solution will be basic. It
means that the pH of the solution is greater than 7.
4. Salts in which both the cation and the anion hydrolyze.
⮚ For salts produce from a weak acid and a weak base, both the cation and the anion
hydrolyze.
⮚ However, whether a solution containing such a salt is acidic, basic, or neutral
depends on the relative strengths of the weak acid and the weak base.
⮚ We consider three situations for making qualitative predictions about these solutions:
Kb > Ka. If Kb for the anion is greater than Ka for the cation, then the solution must
be basic because the anion will hydrolyze to a greater extent than the cation. At
equilibrium, there will be more OH – ions than H+ ions.
Kb < Ka. If Kb of the anion is smaller than Ka of the cation, the solution will be
acidic because cation hydrolysis will be more extensive than anion hydrolysis.
Ka = Kb. If Ka is approximately equal to Kb, the solution will be nearly neutral.
Answer the questions as quiz in the assignment in the classwork now…