ACIDS, BASES AND SALTS (single + double award)

ACIDS

An acid is a substance that gives/donates hydrogen ions H+, as the only positive ions
when it is dissolved in water. (An acid is a hydrogen ion donor.)

i.e acids split into ions in solution, and this is called ionization.

e.g. HCl (aq) H+ (aq) + Cl- (aq)

H2SO4 (aq) 2H+ (aq) + SO42- (aq)

Acids are classified as strong and weak acids.

a) Strong acids- they are acids which ionize completely in solution giving H+ ions. ie. All
molecules separate into ions.

e.g. HCl (aq) H+ (aq) + Cl- (aq)

HCl is a strong acid because all HCl molecules present split into ions.

Examples of strong acids

Name of acid formula

Hydrochloric acid …HCI……….

Sulphuric acid …H2SO2………..

Nitric acid …HNO3……..

Phosphoric acid …H3PO4………..

b) Weak acids: they are acids which dissociate/ionize partially in aqueous solution.ie
This is indicated by a reversible equation as follows.

eg. H2CO3 2H+ + CO32-

Examples of weak acids

Name of acid formula

Carbonic acid ……H2CO3…………………

Sulphurous acid …H2SO3…………………….

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Ethanoic acid …CH3COOH…………………….

Tartaric acid, Ascorbic acid, Citric acid e.t.c

PROPERTIES OF ACIDS

 They all dissolve to give hydrogen ions.

 They react with most metals to give a salt and hydrogen gas, except nitric acid.
Nitric acid produces oxides of nitrogen.

i.e ACID + METAL SALT + HYDROGEN GAS

e.g. Zinc + hydrochloric acid ……………………………….

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Test for H2 gas: use a burning splint.

Test result : produces a ‘POP’ sound with a burning splint.

 Reacts with metal carbonates giving a salt, carbon dioxide gas and water.

ACID + METAL CARBONATE → SALT + CARBONDIOXIDE + WATER

e.g., Sulphuric acid + copper (ii) carbonate ……………………………...

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Test for CO2 gas: bubble the gas in lime water.

Test result : the gas turns lime water milky.

 React with bases giving salt and water only. This is called neutralization.

e.g CuO + HCl CuCl2 + H2O

 Strong acids are corrosive.

Uses of acids

 Strong acids are used to remove rust from metals.

 Weak acids are used to preserve food and other things. e.g., Vinegar, citric acid
and benzoic acid.
 Manufacture of; paints, fertilizers and detergents.
 Sulphuric acid is used as an electrolyte in car batteries

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  Medicine (ascorbic acid or vitamin C)
 Flavouring food (vinegar)
 Treating insect stings (eg wasp stings are neutralized with vinegar)

BASES

They are the hydroxides and oxides of metals.They react with acids giving salt and
water only.

Examples include, (write down the correct formula in brackets!)

1. Copper (ii) oxide ( CuO )

2. Iron (ii) oxide ( FeO )
3. Zinc oxide ( ZnO )
4. Sodium hydroxide ( NaOH )
5. Potassium hydroxide ( KOH )
6. Calcium hydroxide ( Ca(OH)2) )

Classification of bases

a) Soluble bases: they are oxides which dissolve in water giving hydroxide solutions
called ALKALIS.

e.g. Potassium Hydroxide, Calcium Hydroxide, Sodium Hydroxide

Another unusual alkali is called aqueous Ammonia or Ammonium hydroxide ( )

NB: All oxides of group I elements are soluble; calcium oxide is partially soluble.

b) Insoluble bases: do not dissolve in water. (Mostly oxides of transition elements).

ALKALIS

An alkali is a substance that accept H+ ions from acids. Alkalis form OH- ions in
solution.

e.g. NaOH (aq) OH- + Na+

Strong alkalis: they ionize completely in solution giving OH- ions.

NaOH ( ) ……………………………….

Weak alkalis: they ionize partially in solution giving OH- ions

NH3 + H2O NH4+ + OH-

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STRONG ALKALIS WEAK ALKALIS

Sodium hydroxide ( ) Calcium hydroxide ( )

Potassium hydroxide ( ) ammonium hydroxide ( )

Properties of alkalis and bases

 Strong alkalis are soapy to touch; this is because they react with natural oils in the
skin making soap.
 Strong alkalis are corrosive ( e.g. NaOH, KOH)
 Alkalis turn red litmus paper blue
 All alkalis dissolve in water and give solutions which contains hydroxide ions.
 Bases neutralize acids. When a base neutralizes an acid, the process is called a
Neutralization reaction and water is always produced.

e.g. NaOH + H2SO4 …………….......................................................

 Strong alkalis displace ammonia gas from ammonium salts.

i.e. ammonium salt + alkali salt + ammonia gas + water

e.g. ………………………………………………………………………………………….

USES OF BASES

 Treatment of ingestion (milk of magnesia and antiacid tablets)

 In toothpaste to neutralize acid in the mouth [ Mg(OH)2]
 Dissolve dirt and grease from surfaces
 Manufacture of detergents ( cleaning chemicals)
 Treatment of acid soils. e.g. lime( )
 Treatment of insect stings.

INDICATORS

The presence of acids or alkalis may be shown using indicators. An indicator changes
from one colour when mixed with an acid or alkali.

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 Indicator Colour(acid) Colour(alkali)
Methyl orange Pink Yellow

Phenolphthalein Colourless Pink

Litmus paper red blue

Universal indicator: it is a mixture of several indicators used to distinguish strong and

weak acids as well as alkalis.

red Orange Yellow green Light blue Dark blue

Strong acid Weak acid Weak neutral Weak alkali Strong alkali
acid

PH scale

It measures how acidic or alkaline a solution is. i.e. It measures the strength of an acid
and an alkali. It ranges from zero to fourteen.

01 2 3 456 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

Strong acid Weak acid neutral Weak alkali Strong alkali

OXIDES

They are compounds with oxygen atoms or oxide ions attached to other elements. They
are formed when elements are burned.

e.g carbon monoxide ………….

nitrogen monoxide …………..

copper (ii) oxide …………

carbon dioxide ……………

sulphure dioxide ……………

sulphure trioxide …………….

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Types of oxides

When oxides are dissolved in water and tested with universal indicator it shows that they
can be classified as acidic, basic, amphoteric and neutral oxides.

a) Acidic oxides

Non-metallc oxides which when combined with water produce an acid. They neutralize
base forming salt and water only.(name the acid produced)

e.g SO2 + H2O H2SO3 ( )

SO3 + H2O H2SO4 ( )

CO2 + H2O H2CO3 ( )

NO2 + H2O HNO3 ( )

b) Basic oxides

They are metallic oxides which react with acid giving salt and water only.

e.g CuO, Fe2O3, Na2O, MgO, etc.

MgO + HCl ………………………………….

c) Amphoteric oxides

They are metallic oxides which react with both acids and alkalis forming salt and water.

e.g. Aluminium oxide and Zinc oxide.

ZnO + HCl ZnCl2 + H2

d) Neutral oxides

Oxides which are neither basic nor alkaline. They do not react with acids or alkalis and
are mostly monoxides.

e.g H2O, CO, NO.

SALTS

A salt is a substance formed when acidic hydrogen of an acid is replaced by a metal or an

ammonium ion.

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e.g. KOH + HCl KCl + H2O

NH4OH + H2SO4 (NH4)2SO4 + H2O

TYPES OF SALTS

1. Acidic salts

An acidic salt is formed when acidic hydrogen of an acid is partially replaced. ie. One
hydrogen remains as part of the salt and make the salt acidic.

e.g. NAME OF SALT FORMULA

Calcium hydrogen carbonate ……………………..

Magnesium hydrogen sulphate ……………………….

2. Neutral/Normal salts

A neutral salt (PH = 7) is formed when an acidic hydrogen of an acid is completely

replaced by a cation.

e.g. NaOH + H2SO4 Na2SO4 + H2O

1. PREPARATION OF SOLUBLE SALTS

The salts are prepared by;

 Mixing and dissolving correct reactants (Acid + another substance in excess).

 Filtration to remove unused (excess) substance.
 Heating to concentrate the salt solution (remove excess water)
 Crystallization by leaving the concentrated salt solution to dry slowly in air(keeps
water of crystallization).

REACTION SCHEME FOR SOLUBLE SALT PREPARATION.

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 METHODS FOR SALT PREPARATION

1. Action of an acid on a metal

i.e. ACID + METAL SALT + HYDROGEN GAS

e.g. HCl + Zn …………………………………..

NB: This method can ONLY be used with the following metals;

Magnesium,Zinc,Iron and Tin. (MaZIT).Most transition metals do not react with

dilute acids

Why not with group I metals?_____________________________________________

2. Action of an acid on an insoluble carbonate.

i.e. ACID + insoluble Carbonate SALT + carbon dioxide + water

e.g. HCl + CuCO3 …………………………………..

NOTE

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  Excess copper (ii) carbonate is used to make sure that all acid is used
up/neutralized.
 During the reaction, an effervescence (fizzing) is observed due to the production
of CO2 gas. The fizzing stops when all acid has been used up and this may help to
confirm that the reaction has come to an end.
 Insoluble substance is used for easy separation of excess/unused solids by
filtration.

3. Action of an acid on an insoluble base.

i.e. ACID + Excess insoluble Base SALT + water

e.g. H2SO4 + CuO …………………………………..

NB. Here, there is no gas produced. Use a blue litmus paper to check whether the
reaction has come to an end/mixture is neutral.

4. Action of an acid on an alkali (Titration)

i.e. ACID + Alkali SALT + water

e.g. HCl + NaOH …………………………………..

NB: -Titrate an acid with an alkali using an indicator to determine the exact end
point.

-To obtain a pure salt (not contaminated by an indicator),use new solutions and titrate
without using an indicator.

2. PREPARATION OF INSOLUBLE SALTS

Insoluble salts cannot be made by any of the methods already described. Instead they
must be prepared by mixing solutions containing the correct ions, for example, the
preparation of lead iodide; this may be done by adding lead ions to iodide ions.

The method is called precipitation.

Precipitate(ppt)-it is a suspension of solid particles in solution formed by insoluble

solids.

e.g. Ba(NO3)2 ( ) + CuSO4( ) BaSO4( ) + Cu(NO3)2

Barium sulphate is a white precipitate.It can be separated by filtration followed by

drying.

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REACTION SCHEME FOR INSOLUBLE SALT PREPARATION

QUALITAIVE ANALYSIS

It is the analysis of ions from samples using colours of their precipitates and types of
gases produced in a chemical reaction.

FOR CATIONS: hydroxide solutions are used.

e.g a) Colourful precipitates

Cu(OH)2 ≈ Blue precipitate showing the presence of copper (ii) ions

Fe(OH)2 ≈ green precipitate showing the presence of iron (ii) ions

Fe(OH)3 ≈ red-brown precipitate showing the presence of iron (iii) ions

b) White precipitates

Al(OH)3, Zn(OH)2, Ca(OH)2 are all white ppt’s hence excess hydroxide solution may be
used to differentiate them.

FOR ANIONS: Specific solutions are used to test for specific ions.

e.g. Sulphate ions-acidified Barium nitrate is used. A white precipitate of Barium

sulphate is formed.

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