CHEMISTRY NOTE

CHAPTER (1)
ACIDS, BASES AND SALTS
An acid is a substance that dissolves in water to produce hydrogen ions (H+).
A base is a substance that dissolves in water to give hydroxide ions (OH-)
Brønsted - Lowry acid: A substance that can transfer a proton ion (H+)
Brønsted - Lowry base: A substance that can accept a proton ion (H+)
Conjugate acid-base pairs
The product that remains after an acid donates a proton is called the conjugate base.
The product that results when a base accepts a proton is called the conjugate acid.
Amphoteric substance is defined as substance that acts as both an acid and base.
Lewis acid is an electron-pair acceptor.
Lewis base is an electron-pair donor.
NAMING ACIDS AND BASES
Naming Acids
i. Binary acids (or non-oxy acids)
They are acids that contain only two elements. They are named by adding the prefix Hydro-, and
replacing the suffix-ide of the anion with -ic acid
Examples:
a) HCI = Hydrochloric acid
b) HBr = Hydrobromic acid
c) HF = Hydrofluoric acid
d) HI = Hydroiodic acid
ii. Oxyacids
They are acids that contain oxygen. They are named by replacing the suffix -ate and -ite of the
anion with -ic acid and -ous acid respectively:
Examples:
a) HNO3: Nitric acid b) HNO₂: Nitrous acid
Naming bases
Most common bases are ionic compounds that contain cations and anions. When naming these
compounds, first the cation is named and then the anion as follows:
Example:
a) NaOH = Sodium hydroxide
b) KOH = Potassium hydroxide
c) Ca (OH) ₂ = Calcium hydroxide
CLASSIFICATION OF ACIDS AND BASES
Types of Acids:
Acids are classified into three types based on the number of protons they can donate:
i. Monoprotic acids: are acids that can donate one proton (H+)
Acids that can donate one proton (H+) when dissolved in water such as HCI, HCIO 4, HNO3,
CH3COOH and HF.

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 CHEMISTRY NOTE
ii. Diprotic acids:Acids that can donate two protons (2H+) when dissolved in water such as H₂SO4,
H₂CO3, and H₂SO3.
iii. Triprotic acids: Acids that can donate three protons (3H+) when dissolved in water such as
H3PO4.
Acids are also classified according to their relative strength into:
1) Strong acids
2) Weak acids.
Strong acids: are acids that dissociate completely into ions in aqueous solutions. There are only
seven strong acids:
a) HCI = hydrochloric acid
b) HBr = hydrobromic acid
c) HI = hydroiodic acid
d) HCIO3 = chloric acid
e) HCIO4 = perchloric acid
f) H₂SO4 = sulfuric acid
g) HNO3 = nitric acid
When writing the ionization equation strong acids, the reactants and products are separated by
single arrow.
For example: a) HCl (aq) + H₂O (l) → H3O+ (aq) + Cl-(aq)
Weak acids: are acids that dissociate partially into ions in aqueous solutions. When writing the
ionization equation of weak acids, the reactants and products are separated by double arrow.

Types of bases:
Bases are classified according to their relative strength into:
Strong base
It is a compound that has an ability to remove a proton from a very weak acid. Or they completely
dissociate into its ions when in water.

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 CHEMISTRY NOTE

Weak base
There is incomplete dissociation when in water. The aqueous solution contains both the weak base
as well as its conjugate acid. Examples are ammonia (NH3), water (H₂O), pyridine (C5H5N).
Super base: an extremely strong base.
Examples: Sodium hydride (NaH), Sodium amide (NaNH₂)
PROPERTIES OF ACIDS AND BASES
The Properties of Acids
 Acids have a sour taste
 Acids turn blue litmus paper red.
 They produce H+ ions when dissolved in water.
 Acids react with active metals (zinc, magnesium, and iron) to produce hydrogen gas.
 Acids react with carbonates and bicarbonates (Na₂CO3, CaCO3, and NaHCO3) to produce
carbon dioxide gas.
 Acids conduct electricity in aqueous solution.

Properties of Bases:
 Bases have a bitter taste.
 Bases have a slippery feel.
 Bases react with acids to form salts
 Bases turn red litmus paper blue.
 A base conducts electricity in aqueous solutions
 Bases have the ability to accept protons from proton donors.
REACTIONS OF ACIDS AND BASES
Reactions of acids
The common reactions that acids undergo are:
a) Neutralization reaction:
A neutralization reaction is a reaction between an acid and a base, and often produces salt and
water only.
Acid + base → salt + water
HCl (aq) + NaOH (aq)NaCl(aq) + H2O(l)
b) Reaction of acids with metals
Acids react with certain metals, such as zinc, magnesium, and iron, to produce hydrogen gas.

c) Reaction of acids with carbonates and bicarbonates

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 CHEMISTRY NOTE
Reactions of bases
The common reactions that bases undergo are:
a. Neutralization reaction:
A neutralization reaction is a reaction between an acid and a base, and often produces a salt
and water only.
Acid + base → salt + water
b. Reaction with ammonium ion
c. Reaction with some metal ions
DISSOCIATION OF WATER
Dissociation of water: an equilibrium reaction in which one water molecule donates it’s proton
to another water molecule.
H2O + H2O H3O+ + OH-
The above equation is called the dissociation of water. This reaction is characterized by the
equilibrium equation, Kw = [H+][OH-], where the equilibrium constant (Kw) is called the ion
product constant for water.
Calculations of ion product constant for water (Kw)
We can the calculate Kw because we know the value of [H+] and [OH-] for pure water at 25C٥
Kw [H+] [OH-]
𝐤𝐰 = (1 × 10−7 )(1 × 10−7 )
𝐤𝐰 = (1 × 10−14 )
If one knows the concentration of either the hydronium ions or the hydroxide ions in a water
solution, the other ion concentration can be determined.
𝐊𝐖 𝐊𝐖
[H+]= [OH−]
or [OH-] = [𝑯+ ]
The concentrations of these ions in a solution are often determinants of the solution's properties.
We can distinguish acidic, neutral, and basic aqueous solutions by the relative values of
concentrations of H3O+ and OH-
Acidic: [H3O+] > [OH-]
Neutral: [H3O+] = [OH-]
Basic: [H3O+] < [OH-]
If one of the concentrations of [H3O+] or [OH-] is known, the other can be readily calculated:
Example 1
The concentrations of [H3O ] ions in a sample of lemon juice is 2.5X10-3 M. Calculate the
+

concentration of [OH-] ions, and classify the solution as acidic, neutral, or basic.
Solution:
𝐊𝐖
[OH-] = [𝑯+ ]
1×10−14 1×10−14
[OH− ] = = [2.5×10− 3] = 4 × 10−12 M
[H+ ]
Example 2
The concentration of [OH ] in a sample of seawater is 2.0 X 10 -6 M. calculate the concentration
-

of [H3O+] ions, and classify the solution as acidic, neutral, or basic

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 CHEMISTRY NOTE
Solution:
𝐊𝐖
[H3O+] = [OH−]
𝟏×𝟏𝟎−𝟏𝟒 𝟏×𝟏𝟎−𝟏𝟒
[H3O+] = = [𝟐×𝟏𝟎− 𝟔] = 𝟓 × 𝟏𝟎−𝟗 𝐌
[𝐎𝐇− ]
Example 3
The concentration of OH- ions in a certain household ammonia cleaning solution is 0.0030 M.
Calculate the concentration of H3O+ ions.
Solution:
𝐊𝐖
[H3O+] = [OH−]
𝟏×𝟏𝟎−𝟏𝟒 𝟏×𝟏𝟎−𝟏𝟒
[H3O+] = = = 𝟑. 𝟑 × 𝟏𝟎−𝟏𝟐 𝐌
[𝐎𝐇− ] [𝟎.𝟎𝟎𝟑𝟎]
Example 4
A solution of carbon dioxide in water has a hydronium ion concentration of 2.5x 10 -7 M. What is
the concentration of hydroxide ion at 25 °C?
Solution:
𝐊𝐖
[OH-] = [𝑯+ ]
1×10−14 1×10−14
[OH− ] = = [2.5×10− 7] = 4 × 10−8 M.
[H+ ]
THE PH SCALE
PH: defined as the negative logarithm of hydronium or hydrogen ion concentration:
PH = -log [H+] or PH = -log [H3O+].
Rearranging this equation to isolate the hydrogen ion molarity yields the equivalent expression:

Likewise, the hydroxide ion molarity may be expressed as a POH:

The pH scale and pH values for some common substances are shown in figure below:

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 CHEMISTRY NOTE
Example 1:
Calculate the pH of each of the following:
a) [H3O+] = 2.3 X 10-²
b) [H3O+] = 4.1 X 10-³
c) H3O+] = 3.2 X 10-9
Solution:
a) pH = -log [H₂O+] = -log (2.3 X 10²) = 1.6
b) pH = -log [H₂O¹] = -log (4.1 X 10-³) = 2.4
c) pH = -log [H₂O¹] = -log (3.2 X 10-⁹) = 8.5
Example 2 :
Calculate the pH of each of the following:
a) [OH-] = 1.5 X 10-5
b) [OH-] = 6.4 X 10-²
c) [OH-] = 4.2 X 10-10
Solution:
𝐊𝐖
[H3O+] = , use this formula to get hydronium ion.
[OH−]
a) [H3O+] = 6.7 X 10-1⁰M pH = -log[H3O+] = -log (6.7 X 10-¹0) = 9.2
b) [H3O+] = 1.6 X 10-¹³M
pH = -log[H3O+] = -log (1.6 X 10-¹³) = 12.8
c) [H3O+] = 2.4 X 10-5 M
pH = -log[H3O+] = -log (2.4 X 10³) = 4.6
Example 3:
Calculate the [H3O+] of each of the following:
a) pH = 2.3
b) pH=3.5
c) pH =9.6
Solution:
a) [H3O+] = 10-PH = 10- 2.3 =5.0X10-³
b) [H3O+] = 10-PH = 10- 3.5 =3.2X10-4
c) [H3O+] = 10-PH = 10- 9.6 = 2.5X10-10
EXERCISE
Calculate the PH of the following
1. [H3O+] = 8.3X10-5
2. [H3O+] = 1.9X10-2
3. [H3O+] = 5.2X10-8
4. [OH-] = 2.5X10-4
5. [OH-] = 8.4X10-9
Calculate the [H3O+] of the following
1. PH= 6.2
2. PH= 2.5

By: Golcad