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What Are Acids

An acid is a substance that turns blue litmus paper red. Acids have hydrogen in their formula, are sour, and turn litmus paper red. Common acids found in nature include citric acid, lactic acid, hydrochloric acid, ethanoic acid, and tartaric acid. A base is a substance that changes red litmus paper to blue. Bases are often soluble in water and include compounds with names containing metals and the words oxide or hydroxide. The pH scale measures whether a solution is acidic, alkaline, or neutral on a scale from 0 to 14.

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43 views4 pages

What Are Acids

An acid is a substance that turns blue litmus paper red. Acids have hydrogen in their formula, are sour, and turn litmus paper red. Common acids found in nature include citric acid, lactic acid, hydrochloric acid, ethanoic acid, and tartaric acid. A base is a substance that changes red litmus paper to blue. Bases are often soluble in water and include compounds with names containing metals and the words oxide or hydroxide. The pH scale measures whether a solution is acidic, alkaline, or neutral on a scale from 0 to 14.

Uploaded by

ruthlynhenry
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© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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What are acids?

An acid is a substance that turns blue litmus paper to red. Acids can be identified due to specific properties they have and the chemical reactions they undergo.

The properties of acids are:


They have a sour taste. Do you know of any substances that have a sour taste? Lime juice and citrus fruits are sour because they contain acids, namely citric acid. However, it is important that you do not taste acids in the laboratory. Acids are corrosive and may harm anything they touch. All acids have hydrogen in their formula. However, not all compounds containing hydrogen are acids. Acids turn blue litmus paper red.

Common acids found in nature are:


Citric acid-found in citrus fruits Lactic acid-found in sour milk; muscle Hydrochloric acid-found in the stomach; it

cramps are due to a build-up of this acid aids digestion and kills bacteria entering the stomach Ethanoic acid-found in vinegar Tartaric acid-found in grapes.

What are bases?


A base is a substance that changes red litmus paper to blue. Most of the bases used in the laboratory are soluble in water. These bases are called alkalis. Any compound that begins with the name of a metal and is followed by the word oxide or hydroxide, e.g. sodium oxide or calcium hydroxide, is a base.

The properties of alkalis are:


They have a bitter taste They have a slippery or soapy feel They react with acids to produce salt and water only They turn red litmus paper blue.

What is a PH scale?
The pH is a scale, which is used to determine whether a solution is acidic, alkaline or neutral. This scale is numbered from zero to 14.

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