ACIDS AND BASES DRAFT DOCUMENT

Learner Notes

Acids and Bases

• Acids and bases are chemicals that exhibit their chemical behaviour when
dissolved in water. Hence, when dealing with them the word aqueous will be
repeatedly used, so is in the chemical equation for acids and bases. Acids and
bases produces ions when dissolved in water; therefore, are called electrolytes.
• An electrolyte is an ionic solution that is able to conduct electricity.
• There are different types of acids and bases that occur naturally; however, there
also others which are derived in the laboratory
• Acids and bases are defined based on two theories i.e. Lowry-Bronsted and
Arrhenius

Table1: Illustrates acid and base definition using different theories.

Definition Acid Base

Lowry-Bronsted An acid is a proton donor (H+) A base is a proton acceptor (H+)
theory HCl + H2O ↔H3O+(aq) + Cl-(aq) NH3 + H20 ↔NH4+(aq) + OH-(aq)

Arrhenius theory An acid liberates hydrogen A base liberates hydroxyl ions

ions (H+) in aqueous solutions (OH-) in aqueous solutions
HCl ↔H+(aq) + Cl-(aq) NaOH ↔ Na+(aq) + OH-(aq)

Table 2: Illustrate properties of acids and bases

Acid Base
1. Sour taste 1. Bitter taste
2. Corrosive 2. Caustic
3. have pH lower than 7 3. Have pH greater than 7
4. As pH decreases the acidity 4. As pH increases the basicity increases.
increases

Ampholyte
An ampholyte is a substance that can act as a base and as an acid
e.g.
HSO4- + H2O → H2SO4 + OH- :HSO4- acts as a base
HSO4- + H2O → SO42- + H3O+ :HSO4- acts as an acid

Activity 1
1. With the use of relevant Equations show that water is an Ampholyte.
1.1. H2PO3-
1.2. H2O

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Conjugate Acid- base pairs

.a1 b2 a2 b1

e.g. HCl + H2O ↔ H3O+(aq) + Cl- (aq)

Activity 2
1. Write down the equation and identify conjugate acid-base pairs using the
following:
1.1. H2SO4 dissolved in H2O
1.2. NH3 dissolved in H2O

IONIC STRENGTH of Acids and Bases

Table 4 : Illustrates the difference between a strong acid and a weak acid

Strong Acid(HCl,H2SO4,HNO3) Weak Acid(CH3COOH)

1. Ionises completely in water to form 1. Ionises partially in water to form low
high concentration of hydronium ions concentration of hydroxide ions
2. Has a lower pH value 2. Has pH value closer to 7
3. has bigger Ka 3. Has smaller Ka
4. Stronger electrolytes, high conductivity 4. Weak electrolytes, lower conductivity

Table 5 : Illustrates the difference between a strong base and a weak base

Strong bases(NaOH,KOH) Weak bases

1. dissociates completely in water 1. dissociates partially in water
2. Has a pH value closer to 14 2. Has pH value closer to 7
3. has bigger Kb 3. Has smaller Kb
4. Stronger electrolytes, high conductivity 4. Weak electrolytes, lower conductivity

Auto-ionisation of water
• Water has tendency to ionise itself by transferring a proton (H+) from one
water molecule to the other. This ionisation is shown in the equation below:
H2O(l) + H2O(l) ↔ H3O+(aq) + OH-(aq)
• Since, the above reaction shows an equilibrium nature, then one can write
the equilibrium constant expression for water auto-ionisation as follows:
K w =¿ ¿ ¿
• However, concentration of liquid water at room temperature remains constant
as 1
mol.dm-3. Therefore Kw maybe written as
K w =¿ ¿ ¿
• But K w =1, 0 ×10−14
−14
K w =1, 0 ×10 =¿

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Indicators
• An indicator is a chemical substance that changes colour when the
solution has a specific pH
• There are three indicators that are of concern for grade 12 discussion i.e.
methyl orange, Phenolphthalein and Bromothymol blue
• Indicators are used in titration (neutralisation reactions) to determine an
equivalence point or an end point
• An equivalence point is a stage whereby an acid/base has completely
reacted with an base/Acid. Therefore, in solution there is only salt, water
and an indicator available
• Although, there are three different indicators available for use in grade 12,
it is important that one is able to determine the suitable indicator based on
combination of acid and base available.

Table 3 : Illustrates the selection of a suitable indicator

Combination Indicator pH range Expected colour

Strong Acid + Weak base Methyl Orange 3,1 – 4,4 Yellow / orange
Strong acid + Strong base Bromothymol blue 6,0 – 7,6 Blue / dark blue
Weak acid + strong base Phenolphthalein 8,3 – 10 Pink / red

Activity 3
1. Which indicator would you use if solutions of the following acid and base
were titrated against one another?
1.1. HNO3 and NaOH
1.2. CH3COOH and Ca(OH)2
1.3. H2SO4 and CaCO3

pH
• pH is a measure of concentration of H+ ions in a solution.
• pH is mathematically defined as pH = -log[H+] or pH = -log[H3O+]
• pH is measured with a pH meter; for grade 12, pH meter ranges from 0 to
14
◦ Acidic pH is less than 7
◦ Neutral pH is equal to 7
◦ Basic / Alkaline pH is greater than 7
• Also, pH could be calculated using stoichiometry and hydrolysis
of substance to determine the concentration of H+ ions

Determination of pH for Acids

Example 1: Calculate the pH of 0.01mol.dm-3 HNO3 (aq) solution.
Solution 1:
Step 1: Ionise HNO3 to get H+ ions
HNO3 → H+ + NO3-

Step 2: Determine stoichiometric ratio of an acid to proton

1 mol of HNO3 : 1 mol of H+

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Step 3: Determine the concentration of H+

HNO3 → H+ + NO3-
0,01 0,01

Step 4: Determine pH using calculation

pH = -log[H3O+]
pH = -log(0,01)
pH = 2

Activity 4
1. Determine the pH of the following solutions
1.1. 0,05 mol.dm-3 of HCl
1.2. 0,05mol.dm-3 of H2SO4
1.3. 0,030 mol.dm-3 of H3PO4

Determination of pH for Bases

• The problem with bases is that they don’t produce H+ ions during
hydrolysis.
Therefore, when pH of a base is calculated, it is important to first
determine the concentration of H+ before committing to the mathematical
definition of pH.
• Kw of pure water is 1x10-14 :
However, water is a product of H+ (acid) and OH-(base).
Hence, the above statement could be mathematically written as
[H+][OH-] = 1x10-14
Therefore, concentration of an acid
¿¿

Example 2: Determine the pH of 0,001 mol.dm-3 NaOH

Solution 2:

Step 1: Dissociate the base to produce hydroxide ions

NaOH → Na+ + OH-

Step 2: Determine the Stoichiometric ratio of a base is to hydroxide ions

1mol of NaOH = 1mol OH-

Step 3: Determine the concentration of OH-

[OH-] = 0,01 mol.dm-3

Step 4: Determine the concentration of H3O+

¿¿
¿¿
¿ ¿1,0×10-12 mol.dm-3

Step 5: Determine pH of a base

pH = -log[H3O+]
pH = -log(1,0×10-12)
pH = 12

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Activity 5
1. Determine the pH for the following solutions
1.1. 0,02 mol.dm-3 KOH
1.2. 0,02 mol.dm-3 Ba(OH)2
1.3. 0,015 mol.dm-3 Al(OH)3

Types of reactions of acids

1. Acid + Metal → Salt + Hydrogen gas
HCl + Mg → MgCl2 + H2
2. Acid + Metal oxide → Salt + water
HCl + MgO → MgCl2 + H2O
3. Acid + Carbonate → Salt + water + carbon
dioxide
H2SO4 + CaCO3 → CaSO4 + H2O + CO2
4 Acid + Metal hydroxide (Base) → Salt + water
HNO3 + NaOH → NaNO3 + H2O

Reaction 2, 3 and 4 are called neutralization reaction, this is mere to the

fact that one of the products formed is pure water (distilled water) which is
a neutral substance.

Neutralisation Reactions
• The above reactions are also called protolysis, because there is proton
transfer.
• Also, neutralisation produce heat i.e. are exothermic

Concentration
• Concentration is the measure of amount of solute in a solution.
• Solutions are divided into two in terms of concentration i.e. dilute and
concentrated solution.
• Concentration is measured in mol.dm-3, sometimes denoted as M which
means molarity. However, for our discussion the focus is on the former.
• Concentration is quantitatively calculated using the following equations:

n
c=
v
m
c=
Mv

Where:
c= concentration (mol.dm-3)
n= number of moles (mol)
v= volume of solution (dm-3)
m= mass (g)
M= Molar mass (g.mol-1)

Example 1: Calculate the concentration of 0,025 mol of NaOH in 250 ml

solution.

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Solution 1:
Step 1 : Collect data
n = 0,025 mol
v = 250 / 1000 = 0,250 dm3
c=?
Step 2 : Selection of suitable equation
n
c=
v
Step 3 : Substitute and leave an answer with correct units
n
c=
v
0,025
c=
0,250
−3
c=0 ,10 mol . dm

Example 2: Calculate the concentration of 25g of HCl dissolved in water to

produce a 400 ml solution.

Solution 2
Step 1 Collect data
m = 25 g
M = 1 +35,5 = 36,5 g.mol-1
v = 400 /1000 = 0,400 dm3
c=?
Step 2 : select a suitable equation
m
c=
Mv
Step 3: Substitute and leave an answer with correct units.
m
c=
Mv
25
c=
36 , 5 ×0,400
c = 1,71 mol.dm-3

Activity 6
1. Determine the concentration of the following solutions

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1.1. 0,013 mol of H2SO4 dissolved to make 200 cm3 solution.

1.2. If 10g HNO3 is dissolve to make 250ml solution
2. Calculate the mass required to prepare a 150 ml of Na2CO3 of 0,01
mol.dm-3concentration.

Acid - Base Titration

• For any titration to be done, there must be two solutions, a standard
solution and an unknown solution.
• A standard solution is a solution of precisely known concentration. This
solution is prepared before titration starts.
Steps required to prepare a standard solution:
◦ Step 1: Calculate the mass required and weigh it on a digital balance
◦ Step 2: Pour the solid substance into a known volume volumetric flask.
◦ Step 3: Slowly add water with constant swirling to speed up dissolution
rate.
◦ Step 4: Add water drop wise until it reaches the mark.

Stoichiometric calculations for determination of unknown solution

caV a na
=
cbV b nb
Where:
ca = concentration of an acid
Va = volume of an acid
na = number of moles of an acid
Cb = concentration of a base
Vb = volume of a base
Nb = number of moles of a base

Example 1: Titration

A 20 cm3 of 0,012 mol.dm-3 solution of sulphuric acid is titrated against

an unknown concentration of NaOH; at the end point 30 cm3 of
unknown concentration solution was used. Calculate the concentration
of unknown solution.

Step 1: Write a balanced chemical reaction (if given check and balance it)
H2SO4 + 2 NaOH → Na2SO4 + 2 H2O

Step 2: Ratio of acid to base (Stoichiometry)

1 mol of H2SO4 : 2mol of NaOH

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Step 3 Collect data

na = 1 mol
Nb = 2 mol
ca = 0,012 mol.dm-3
Cb= ?
Va = 20 /1000 = 0,020 dm3
Vb = 30 /1000 = 0,030 dm3
Step 4: Select a suitable formula and substitute
na c a V a
=
nb c b V b
1 0,012 × 0,020
=
2 c b 0,030
cb = 0,016 mol.dm-3

Example 2:
During extraction of gold an excess amount of NaOH is used to wash
off the impurities. 1 g of NaOH with impurities was dissolved in water
to make up of 100 ml solution of NaOH with impurities, was titrated
against 75 ml of 0,025 mol.dm-3 H3PO4 and the end point was
reached.
Calculate the mass of impurities in a sample

Solution 2
Step 1: Write a balanced reaction
3NaOH + H3PO4 → Na3PO4 + 3H2O

Step 2: Determine the ratio of Acid: Base (at the end point)
1 mol of H3PO4 = 3 mol of NaOH

Step 3: Collect data

na = 1 mol
n = 3 mol
B

ca = 0,025 mol.dm-3
c=?
B

Va = 75 /1000 = 0,075dm3
V = 100 /1000 = 0,10 dm3
B

Step 4: Select a suitable equation, substitute and get unknown

na c a V a
=
nb c b V b
1 0,025× 0,075
=
3 c b ×0 , 10
cb = 0,05625 mol.dm-3

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Then need to convert concentration into mass of NaOH

m
c b=
M vb
m
0,05625=
40 ×0 , 10
m= 0,225 g

Mass of impurities = mass of the sample – mass of NaOH

= 1,0 – 0,225 = 0,775 g

Activity 7
1. A 1.034 g sample of impure oxalic acid (H2C2O4, 90 g mol -1) is dissolved in
water and titrated to the endpoint with 34,47 mL of 0,4850 M KOH.
H2C2O4(aq) + 2 KOH(aq) → K2C2O4(aq) + 2 H2O(l)
1.1 Calculate the mass of impurities
.
1.2 Calculate the percentage purity of the oxalic acid.
.

2. A student was asked to determine the mass of calcium carbonate

(CaCO3,100 g.mol-1) present in a 0,1250 g sample of chalk. The student
dissolved the sample in 50,00 ml of 0,2000 mol.dm-3 HCl and the following
reaction
took place:
CaCO3 + 2 HCl → CaCl2 + H2O + CO2
The excess HCl was then back titrated to the endpoint with 32,12 ml of
0,2500 mol.dm-3 NaOH.
HCl + NaOH → NaCl + H2O
Calculate the mass of calcium carbonate, in grams, present in the chalk.

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TYPICAL EXAM QUESTIONS

QUESTION 1 – 30 minutes (Taken from IEB Nov 2007 Paper 2 HG)

1. When 0,1 mol.dm-3 ethanoic acid is dissolved in water, the following

equilibrium is established
CH3COOH(aq) + H2O(l) →CH3COO–(aq) + H3O+(aq)
The pH of the solution is measured to be 3.
1.1. What is the concentration of the H O+(aq) ions in the solution? (4)
3
1.2. Calculate the equilibrium constant (Kc) for the reaction at the prevailing
Temperature. (5)
1.3 Using the answer calculated above, explain why ethanoic acid is
classified
as a weak acid. (4)

1.4. 1,713 g of Ba(OH) is added to 100 cm3 of the 0,1 mol.dm–3 ethanoic
2
acid solution without changing the volume. The balanced chemical
reaction is represented as follows:
2CH3COOH + Ba(OH)2 →Ba(CH3COO)2 + 2H2O
1.4.1. Calculate the number of moles of CH3COOH present in

100 cm3 solution of the ethanoic acid (3)

1.4.2. Calculate the number of moles of Ba(OH)2 present in.
1,713 g barium hydroxide (4)
1.4.3. Determine which of CH3COOH or Ba(OH)2, is in
excess
and by how many moles (4)
1.4.4. Using this information, what will be the final pH of the
solution? (5)
[29]

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SAMPLE EXAM QUESTIONS

1.1 Which ONE of the following solutions has the HIGHEST pH value?

A 0,1 mol•dm-3 Mg(OH)2

B 0,1 mol•dm-3 NH3

C 0,1 mol•dm-3 HCl

D 0,1 mol•dm-3 H2SO4

1.2 Which ONE of the following represents the products formed during the hydrolysis

of calcium carbonate?

A H30+(aq) and C032-(aq)

B OH-(aq) and HCO3-(aq)

C Ca2+(aq) and C032-(aq)

D Ca2+(aq) and OH-(aq)

1.3 Ammonium sulphate is dissolved in water. Which ONE of the following statements
regarding the solution which is formed, is CORRECT?

A pH = 7

B [H3O+]·[OH-]< 1 x 10-14

C [H3O+]>[OH-]

D [H3O+]<[OH-]

1.4. Which ONE of the following solutions has the HIGHEST conductivity?

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A 0,1 mol.dm - 3 H 2 C0 3

B 0,1 mol.dm - 3 (C00H)2

C 0,1 mol.dm - 3 HNO3

D 0,1 mol.dm - 3 CH3COOH (2)

1.5 Which ONE of the solutions below is acidic?

A KCl (aq)

B Na2SO4

C NH 4 Cl

D CH3COONa(aq) (2)

1.6 Consider the ionization reaction below:

NH 3 + H 2 O ⇄ NH 4 + + OH -

A conjugate acid-base pair is...

A NH 3 ; NH 4 +

B NH 3 ; H2O

C H2O ; NH4+

D NH3 ; OH- (2)

1.7 A 1 mol.dm-3 solution of each of a number of acids is prepared. Which solution will
have the lowest pH?

A HCl
B H2SO4
C CH3COOH

D NH4OH (2)

1.8 Water undergoes auto-ionisation. During this process ...

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A a proton is transferred from one water molecule to another.

B water molecules act as proton donors only.
(2)
C water molecules act as proton acceptors only.
D the pH of water will decrease. (2)

1.9 A small quantity of concentrated hydrochloric acid is gradually added to 1 dm -3

of distilled water at 25 °C. After testing the resultant solution, it is found that the
value of Kw, [H3O+] and [OH-] in mol·dm-3 are:

A Kw = 10-14 [H3O+] < 10-7 [OH-] > 10-7

B Kw < 10-14 [H3O+] < 10-7 [OH-] < 10-7
C Kw = 10-14 [H3O+] > 10-7 [OH-] < 10-7
D Kw = 10-14 [H3O+] = 10-7 [OH-] = 10-7

QUESTION 2 (GP PREP 2015)

7.1 Define a Bronsted-Lowry base. (2)

7.2.1 Calculate the pH of a 0,12 mol.dm-3 HCl? solution. (3)

7.2.2 Write down the FORMULA for the conjugate base of HCl. (I)

7.3.1 Why is HSO4- regarded as an ampholyte? (1)

7.3.2 Write down an equation for the reaction of HSO4- with water to form

the hydronium ion. (3)

7.4 Bongiwe and Sam plan to do a titration. Prior to the titration each of them

prepares a burette using the method given in the table below.

Bongiwe Sam

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She rinses the burette with the acid before He rinses the burette with water
filling it to the mark with acid.
before filling to the mark with acid.

Explain why Sam used an INCORRECT method. (1)

7.5 A solution of potassium hydroxide is made by dissolving 8,0 g of potassium

hydroxide in 250 cm3 of distilled water.

7.5.1 Calculate the concentration of the potassium hydroxide solution. )

7.5.2 25,0 cm3 of this solution prepared as above is titrated and neutralised

against 40,0 cm3 of a DILUTE sulphuric acid solution.

The reaction is as follows:

H2SO4 (aq) + 2KOH (aq) K2SO4(aq) + 2 H2O(l)

Calculate the concentration of the DILUTE acid. (4)

7.5.3 The dilute sulphuric acid solution in QUESTION 7.5.2 was prepared by adding

10,0 cm3 of concentrated sulphuric acid to 490,0 cm3 of distilled water.

Calculate the concentration of the CONCENTRATED acid. (4)

[22]

QUESTION 3 : (MP PREP 2015)

7.1 A bottle in a laboratory contains dilute sulphuric acid of unknown concentration.

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ACIDS AND BASES DRAFT DOCUMENT

Learners wish to determine the concentration of the sulphuric acid solution. To do this
they titrate the sulphuric acid against a standard potassium hydroxide solution.

The balanced equation for the reaction taking place is;

2KOH + H2S04 → K2S04 + 2H20

7.1.1 What is a standard solution? (1)

7.1.2 Calculate the mass of KOH which he must use to make 300 cm3 of a 0,2 mol.dm-3 KOH
solution. (3)

7.1.3 Calculate the pH of the 0,2 mol.dm-3 KOH solution. (5)

7.1.4 Which one of the indicators listed in the table below should he use in this
titration? Explain your answer.
(2)

INDICATOR pH
Methyl orange 7.9 — 4.0
Methyl red 4.4 — 6.0
Bromothymol blue 8.0 — 10.0
Phenolphthalein 8.3 — 10.0

7.1.5 During the titration the learners finds that 15 cm3 of the KOH solution
neutralises 20 cm3 of the H2S04 solution. Calculate the concentration of
the H2SO4 solution. (4)

7.2 An impure sample of calcium oxalate, CaC2O4, with a mass of 0.803 g, is titrated
with 15.70 cm3 of a 0.101 mol•dm-3 KMnO4.

The net reaction is...

2Mn04 + 5C2042- + 16H+→ 2Mn2+ 10CO2 + 8H20

Calculate the percentage purity of the CaC2O4 in the original sample. (6) [21]

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QUESTION 4 (WCED PREP 2014)

You are tasked to determine the percentage ethanoic acid (CH3COOH) in vinegar.
7,5g of commercial vinegar is dissolved in 100cm3 water . 25cm3 of this solution is
neutralised by 28,5cm3 of a sodium hydroxide (NaOH) solution of concentration
0,11mol•dm-3. The balanced equation for the reaction is

NaOH (aq) + CH 3 COOH (aq) → CH 3 COONa(aq) + H 2 O(l)

7.1 Calculate the pH of the sodium hydroxide solution. (5)

7.2 Calculate the number of moles sodium hydroxide used to neutralise the 25cm 3 of
acid. (2)

7.3 Calculate the percentage ethanoic acid in the vinegar. (5)

[25]

QUESTION 5 (EC PREP 2014)

7.1 Define a strong acid. (2)

7.2 A solution of an unknown, monoprotic acid has a concentration of

0, 01 mol·dm-3 and a pH of 3.

7.2.1 Calculate the concentration of the hydrogen ions in this solution. (2)

7.2.2 How will the strength of this unknown acid compare to that
of hydrochloric acid of the same concentration?

Write down only STRONGER THAN, WEAKER THAN or EQUAL TO (1)

7.2.3 Give a reason for your answer in QUESTION 7.7.7. (2)

7.3 Ammonium chloride is an example of a salt that can undergo hydrolysis.

7.3.1 Define the underlined term. (2)

7.3.7. Write an equation to show the hydrolysis of ammonium chloride. (3)

7.3.3 Methyl orange is red in an acidic medium and yellow in an

alkaline medium. What will the colour of methyl orange be in
an ammonium chloride solution? (2)

7.4 A learner adds a sample of calcium carbonate to 50, 0 cm3 of sulphuric acid.
The sulphuric acid is in excess and has a concentration of 1, 0 mol·dm-3.

The balanced equation for the reaction that takes place is:

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CaCO3 + H2SO4 → CaSO4 + CO2 + H2O

The reaction is allowed to proceed until all the CaCO3 is used up.

The H2SO4 left over from REACTION 1 is now neutralised by 28, 0 cm3 of a
0,5 mol·dm-3 sodium hydroxide solution.

The balanced equation for this reaction is:

H2SO4 + 2NaOH → Na2SO4 + 2H2O

Calculate the mass of calcium carbonate in the sample used in REACTION 1. (10)

[24]

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