8.1 the characteristic properties of acids and bases

Chapter 8 Acids, Bases and Salts
Monday, April 6, 2020
By
Sir. Muhammad
Abdul Mageid
Chemistry Teacher

Contents
8.2 Types of Oxides
8.1 The Characteristic Properties of Acids and Bases
8.4 Identification of Ions and Gases
8.3 Preparation of Salts
Sir. Muhammad Abdul Mageid

Properties of Acids
•Acids have pH values of below 7, have a sour taste and are
corrosive.
•In acidic conditions, blue litmus paper turns red and
methyl orange indicator turns red.
•Acids are substances that can neutralise a base, forming
a salt and water.
•When acids react, they will lose electrons to form
positively charged hydrogen ions (H+).
•The presence of H+ ions is what makes a solution acidic.
Example: Hydrochloric Acid
HCl (aq) → H+ (aq) + Cl– (aq)

Typical reactions of acids
1- Acids and metals
•Only metals above hydrogen in the reactivity series will react with
dilute acids.
•When acids react with metals they form a salt and hydrogen gas:
Acid + Metal → Salt + Hydrogen

2- Acids with Bases (Alkalis)
•Metal oxides and metal hydroxides can act as bases.
•When they react with acid, a neutralisation reaction occurs.
•Acids and bases will react together in a neutralisation reaction and produce
a salt and water:
Acid + Base → Salt + Water

Monday, April 6, 2020Monday, April 6, 2020
3- Acids with Metal Carbonates
•Acids will react with metal carbonates to form the corresponding metal salt,
carbon dioxide and water:
Acid + Metal Carbonate → Salt + Carbon Dioxide + Water

Properties of Bases
•Bases have pH values of above 7.
•A base which is water soluble is referred to as an alkali.
•In basic (alkaline) conditions red litmus paper turns blue and
methyl orange indicator turns yellow.
•Bases are substances which can neutralise an acid, forming
a salt and water.
•Bases are usually oxides or hydroxides of metals.
•When alkalis react, they gain electrons to form
negative hydroxide ions (OH–).
•The presence of the OH– ions is what makes the aqueous
solution an alkali.
Example: Sodium Hydroxide
NaOH (s) → Na+ (aq) + OH– (aq)

Typical reactions of bases
2- Bases and acids
•When they react with an acid, a neutralisation reaction occurs.
•Acids and bases react together in a neutralisation reaction and produce a
salt and water:
Acid + Base → Salt + Water

2- Alkalis and ammonium salts
•Ammonium salts undergo decomposition when warmed with an alkali.
•Even though ammonia is itself a weak base, it is very volatile and can
easily by displaced from the salt by another alkali.
•A salt, water and ammonia are produced.
Example:
NH4Cl + NaOH → NaCl + H2O + NH3
•This reaction is used as a chemical test to confirm the presence of
the ammonium ion (NH4
+).
•Alkali is added to the substance with gentle warming followed by the test
for ammonia gas using damp red litmus paper.
•The litmus paper will turn from red to blue if ammonia is present.

Neutrality and Relative Acidity and Alkalinity
The pH scale
•The pH scale is a numerical scale which is used to show
how acidic or alkaline a solution is.
•It goes from 1 – 14 (extremely acidic substances can have values of below 1).
•All acids have pH values of below 7, all alkalis have pH values of above 7.
•The lower the pH then the more acidic the solution is.
•The higher the pH then the more alkaline the solution is.
•A solution of pH 7 is described as being neutral e.g. water.
The pH scale

2- Universal indicator
•Universal indicator is a mixture of
different indicators which is used
to measure the pH.
•A drop is added to the solution and
the colour is matched with a colour
chart which indicates the pH which
matches specific colours.
The pH scale with the Universal
Indicator colours which can be used to
determine the pH of a solution

The importance of pH and soil acidity
•Soil pH is analysed to indicate the acidity or alkalinity of soil.
•Most plants favour a pH value of between 5.5 and 8.
•Changes in soil which cause a pH to be outside this range adversely affect
plant processes resulting in reduced growth and crop yield.
•Soils may become acid from acid rain, overuse of fertilizers which contain
ammonium salts or by the excessive breakdown of organic matter
by bacteria.
•Crushed or powdered limestone (calcium carbonate) or lime (calcium oxide)
or slaked lime (calcium hydroxide) is added to neutralise the excess acidity
in the soil.
•The addition process must be carefully monitored though, as if added in
excess, further damage could be done if the pH goes too high.

Proton Transfer and Weak and Strong Acids and Bases
Proton transfer in acids and bases (Alkalis)
Diagram Showing the Role of Acids and
Bases in the Transfer of Protons

Proton transfer in acids and bases (Alkalis)
Acids Bases (Alkalis)
 Acids are proton donors as
they ionize in solution producing
protons, H+ ions.
 These H+ ions make the
aqueous solution acidic.
 Bases (alkalis) are proton
acceptors as they ionize in
solution producing OH– ions
which can accept protons.
 These OH– ions make the
aqueous solution alkaline.

Strong acids and bases
 Acids and alkalis can be
either strong or weak, depending on how
many ions they produce when dissolved in
water.
 Strong acids and bases ionize completely in
water, producing solutions of very low pH for
an acid or very high pH for a base.
 Strong acids include HCl , H2SO4 and HNO3
 strong bases include the Group(I) hydroxides
NaOH , KOH , RbOH

Strong acids and bases

Weak acids and bases
 Weak acids and bases partially ionize in water and produce pH values
which are closer to the middle of the pH scale.
 Weak acids include organic acids such as ethanoic acid, CH3COOH and
weak bases include aqueous ammonia NH4OH.
 For both weak acids and bases, there is usually an equilibrium set-up
between the molecules and their ions once they have been added to
water.
Example of a weak acid: Example for a weak base:
 Propanoic acid
CH3CH2COOH ⇌ H+ + CH3CH2COO–
 Aqueous ammonia
NH3 + H2O ⇌ NH4
+ + OH–

Effect of concentration on strong and weak acids and alkalis
 A concentrated solution of either an acid or a base is one that contains
a high number of acid or base molecules per dm3 of solution.
 It does not necessarily mean that the acid or base is strong though, as it
may be made from a weak acid or base which does not dissociat
 For example a dilute solution of HCl will be more acidic than a
concentrated solution of ethanoic acid, since most of the
HCl molecules dissociate but very few of the CH3COOH do.
Exam Tip
 In acid-base chemistry, the terms strong and weak refer to the ability to
dissociate and produce H+/OH– ions.
 If referring to concentration when answering a question, then the
words concentrated or dilute should be used.

8.1 the characteristic properties of acids and bases

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8.1 the characteristic properties of acids and bases