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Acids and Bases IGCSE Notes

This document defines acids and bases and discusses their properties. It begins by explaining that acids are sour and soluble in water, while bases are bitter and feel soapy. It then discusses how indicators are used to determine if a substance is acidic or alkaline. Common indicators and their colors in acid and alkaline solutions are provided. The document goes on to define acids and bases in terms of proton transfer based on Arrhenius, Bronsted-Lowry, and neutralization theories. It also distinguishes between strong and weak acids and bases based on their degree of ionization. In summary, the document provides definitions and properties of acids and bases through various theoretical lenses.

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53 views15 pages

Acids and Bases IGCSE Notes

This document defines acids and bases and discusses their properties. It begins by explaining that acids are sour and soluble in water, while bases are bitter and feel soapy. It then discusses how indicators are used to determine if a substance is acidic or alkaline. Common indicators and their colors in acid and alkaline solutions are provided. The document goes on to define acids and bases in terms of proton transfer based on Arrhenius, Bronsted-Lowry, and neutralization theories. It also distinguishes between strong and weak acids and bases based on their degree of ionization. In summary, the document provides definitions and properties of acids and bases through various theoretical lenses.

Uploaded by

saowanee toonchue
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Acids and Bases:

The word acid means ‘sour’ and all acids possess this property. They are also
• soluble in water
• corrosive.

Alkalis are very different from acids. They are bitter. They are the chemical
‘opposite’ of acids.
• They will remove the sharp taste from an acid.
• They have a soapy feel.

It would be too dangerous to taste a liquid to find out if it was acidic. Chemists
use substances called indicators
Which change color when they are added to acids or alkalis.
Many indicators are dyes which have been extracted from natural sources, for
example litmus.
Methyl orange, a common indicator used in titrations is pink in an acid solution
but changes to show a yellow colour in an alkaline solution.

Indicator Color in acid Color in alkaline


solution solution solution
Blue litmus Red Blue
Methyl orange Pink Yellow
Methyl red Red Yellow
Phenolphthalein Colourless Pink
Red litmus Red Blue

To obtain an idea of how acidic or alkaline a substance is, we use another


indicator known as a universal indicator.
This indicator is a mixture of many other indicators. The colour shown by this
indicator can be matched against a pH scale. The pH scale was developed by a
Scandinavian chemist called Soren Sorenson.
• The pH scale runs from below 0 to 14.
• A substance with a pH of less than 7 is an acid.
• One with a pH of greater than 7 is alkaline.
• One with a pH of 7 is said to be neither acid nor alkaline, that is neutral.
Water is the most common example of a neutral substance.
The universal indicator colour range along with everyday substances with their
particular pH values.

Another way in which the pH of a substance can be measured is by using a pH


meter. The pH electrode is placed into the solution and a pH reading is given on
the digital display.

A digital pH Meter
Define acids and bases in terms of proton transfer:

According to Arrhenius’ theory, acids produce hydrogen ions (H+) when they
dissolve in water, whereas bases produce hydroxide ions (OH–).
It was thus recognized that water plays an important part in the acidity of a
substance.
These ideas were rather limiting since they only applied to aqueous solutions.
There were situations where acid–base reactions were taking place in solvents
other than water, or even in no solvent at all.
This problem was addressed by Bronsted–Lowry theory of acids and bases which
proposed a more general definition of acids and bases.

This theory defined:


• an acid as an H+ ion (or proton) donor
• a base as an H+ ion (or proton) acceptor.

since for an acid to behave as an H+ ion donor it must have another substance
present to accept the H+ ion. So the water, in the aqueous acid solution, is
behaving as a Bronsted–Lowry base and accepting an H+ ion.

Generally:

HA(aq) + H2O(l) → H3O+(aq) + A−(aq)


acid base

If a substance can behave both as a Bronsted– Lowry acid and as a Bronsted–


Lowry base then it is called amphoteric. Water has this ability. As well as reacting
with acids (above) it can also react with Bronsted–Lowry bases such as ammonia
in the following way to form the base OH−:

NH3(aq) + H2O(l) → NH4 +(aq) + OH−(aq)


base acid
The reaction between hydrogen chloride gas and ammonia can be described as an
acid–base reaction under this theory. The hydrogen chloride molecule acts as a
proton donor and the ammonia molecule acts as the proton acceptor.

HCl(g) + NH3(g) → NH 4 + + Cl−(s)


acid base

The relative strengths of acids and bases:

The relative strength of an acid is found by comparing one acid with another. The
strength of any acid depends upon how many molecules dissociate (or ionise)
when the acid is dissolved in water. The relative strength of a base is found by
comparing one base with another and is again dependent upon the dissociation of
the base in aqueous solution.

Strong and weak acids

A typical strong acid is hydrochloric acid. It is formed by dissolving hydrogen


chloride gas in water. In hydrochloric acid the ions formed separate completely.

hydrogen chloride water hydrogen ions + chloride ions

HCl(g) water H+(aq) + Cl−(aq)

For hydrochloric acid all the hydrogen chloride molecules break up to form H+
ions and Cl− ions.
Any acid that behaves in this way is termed a strong acid. Both sulfuric acid and
nitric acid also behave in this way and are therefore also termed strong acids.
All these acids have a high concentration of hydrogen ions in solution (H+(aq))
and have a low pH. Their solutions are good conductors of electricity and they
react quickly with metals, bases and metal carbonates.
When strong acids are neutralised by strong alkalis the following reaction takes
place between hydrogen ions and hydroxide ions.

H+(aq) + OH−(aq) → H2O(l)


A weak acid such as ethanoic acid, which is found in vinegar, produces few
hydrogen ions when it dissolves in water compared with a strong acid of the same
concentration. It is only partially ionised. Its solution has a higher pH than a strong
acid, but still less than 7.

Water
ethanoic acid hydrogen ions + ethanoate ions

Water
CH3COOH(l) H+(aq) + CH3COO−(aq)

The sign means that the reaction is reversible.


This means that if the ethanoic acid molecule breaks down to give hydrogen ions
and ethanoate ions then they will react together to re-form the ethanoic acid
molecule. The fact that fewer ethanoic acid molecules dissociate compared with a
strong acid, and that the reaction is reversible, means that few hydrogen ions are
present in the solution. Other examples of weak acids are citric acid, found in
oranges and lemons, carbonic acid, found in soft drinks, sulfurous acid (acid rain)
and ascorbic acid (vitamin C).
Solutions of weak acids are poorer conductors of electricity and have slower
reactions with metals, bases and metal carbonates.
All acids when in aqueous solution produce hydrogen ions, H+(aq). To say an acid
is a strong acid does not mean it is concentrated. The strength of an acid tells you
how easily it dissociates (ionizes) to produce hydrogen ions. The concentration of
an acid indicates the proportions of water and acid present in aqueous solution. It
is important to emphasize that a strong acid is still a strong acid even when it is in
dilute solution and a weak acid is still a weak acid even if it is concentrated.

Strong and weak bases

An alkali is a base which produces hydroxide ions, OH−(aq), when dissolved in


water. Sodium hydroxide is a strong alkali because when it dissolves in water its
lattice breaks up completely to produce ions.

sodium hydroxide water sodium ions + hydroxide ions

NaOH(s) Na+(aq) + OH−(aq)


These substances which are strong alkalis produce large quantities of hydroxide
ions and have a high pH. Other common strong soluble bases include potassium
hydroxide.
A weak alkali, such as ammonia, produces fewer hydroxide ions when it dissolves
in water than a strong soluble base of the same concentration. It is only partially
ionised. It has a lower pH than a strong base, but still above 7.

ammonia + water ammonium ions + hydroxide ions


NH3(g) + H2O(l) NH4+(aq) + OH−(aq)

The ammonia molecules react with the water molecules to form ammonium ions
and hydroxide ions. However, fewer ammonia molecules do this so only a low
concentration of hydroxide ions is produced.
New definition of Acids and Bases on the basis of Neutralization:
Acid is a compound which neutralizes a base to give you salt and water (the pH of product
solution is 7)

Base is a compound which neutralizes an acid to give you salt and water (the pH of product
solution is 7)

In the laboratory, if you wish to neutralise a common acid such as hydrochloric acid you can use
an alkali such as sodium hydroxide. In the start the pH of acid is low. If the pH of the acid is
measured as some sodium hydroxide solution is added to it, the pH increases. If equal volumes
of the same concentration of hydrochloric acid and sodium hydroxide are added to one
another, the resulting solution is found to have a pH of 7. The acid has been neutralised and a
neutral solution has been formed.

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


As we have shown, when both hydrochloric acid and sodium hydroxide dissolve in water the
ions separate completely. We may therefore write:

H+(aq)Cl−(aq) + Na+(aq)OH−(aq) → Na+(aq) + Cl−(aq) + H2O(l)

You will notice that certain ions are unchanged on either side of the equation. They are called
spectator ions and are usually taken out of the equation. The equation now becomes:

H+(aq) + OH−(aq) → H2O(l)

This type of equation is known as an ionic equation. The reaction between any acid and alkali in
aqueous solution can be summarised by this ionic equation. It shows the ion which causes
acidity (H+(aq)) reacting with the ion which causes alkalinity (OH−(aq)) to produce neutral
water (H2O(l)).
Oxides:
Revision
https://sites.google.com/site/internationalgcsechemistry/nutshell-revision-1/nutshell-revision-09-02-
soluble-insoluble-salts

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