Acids and Bases

Acids & Bases
• Acids are also substances that release hydrogen ions when they
dissolve in water:
HCl(g) → H+(aq) + Cl- (aq)
• Monoprotic inorganic acids, such as hydrochloric acid, fully dissociate
into their ions
• Organic acids, such as carboxylic acids, do not fully dissociate into
their ions
• Only some of the hydrogen atoms can form ions
A base is a substance that releases hydroxide ions when it dissolves in
water
• For example, when the base ammonia is added to water, the
ammonium ion and hydroxide ions are formed:
NH3 (g) + H2O (l) → NH4+ (aq) + OH– (aq)
• For example, when sodium hydroxide is dissolved in solution, sodium
ions and hydroxide ions are formed:
NaOH (s) + aq → Na+ (aq) + OH– (aq)
• A base that is soluble in water is called an alkali
Brønsted–Lowry Theory
• The Brønsted-Lowry Theory defines acids and bases in terms of

proton transfer between chemical compounds
• A Brønsted-Lowry acid is a species that gives away a proton (H+)
• A Brønsted-Lowry base is a species that accepts a proton (H+) using
its lone pair of electrons
Acid & Base Dissociation
Strong acids
• A strong acid is an acid that dissociates almost completely in aqueous solutions
• E.g. HCl (hydrochloric acid), HNO3 (nitric acid) and H2SO4 (sulfuric acid)
• The position of the equilibrium is so far over to the right that you can represent the
reaction as an irreversible reaction
• The solution formed is highly acidic due to the high concentration of the H+ / H3O+ ions
• Since the pH depends on the concentration of H+ / H3O+ ions, the pH can be calculated
if the concentration of the strong acid is known
• The concentration of H+ / H3O+ ions can be written as [H+ (aq)]
• pH is the negative log of the concentration of H+ / H3O+ ions and can be calculated, if
the concentration of the strong acid is known, using the stoichiometry of the reaction
pH = –log10 [H+ (aq)]
Weak acids
• A weak acid is an acid that partially (or incompletely) dissociates in

aqueous solutions
• E.g. most organic acids (ethanoic acid), HCN (hydrocyanic acid), H 2S (hydrogen
sulfide) and H2CO3 (carbonic acid)
• The position of the equilibrium is more to the left and an equilibrium is
established
• The solution is less acidic due to the lower concentration of H+ /
H3O+ ions
• Finding the pH of a weak acid is a bit more complicated as now the
concentration of H+ ions is not equal to the concentration of acid
• To find the concentration of H+ ions, the acid dissociation constant (Ka)
should be used
The pH Scale
• The pH scale is a numerical scale that shows how acidic or alkaline a

solution is
• The values on the pH scale go from 1-14 (extremely acidic substances
have values of below 1)
• All acids have pH values below 7
• All alkalis have pH values above 7
• The lower the pH, the more acidic the solution is
• The higher the pH, the more alkaline the solution is
pH of water
• An equilibrium exists in water where few water molecules dissociate

into proton and hydroxide ions:
• H2O (l) ⇌ H+ (aq) + OH– (aq)
• The equilibrium constant expression for this reaction is:
• The equilibrium constant expression can be rearranged to:

• Kc x [H2O] = [H+] [OH–]
• Since the concentration of the H+ and OH- ions is very small, the
concentration of water is considered to be a constant
• So, the expression can be rewritten as: Kw = [H+] [OH–]
• Where Kw (ionic product of water) = Kc x [H2O] = 10-14 mol2 dm-3 at
298K
• Water at 298K has equal amounts of OH- and H+ ions with
concentrations of 10-7 mol dm-3
• To calculate the pH of water, the following formula should be used:
• pH = –log [H+ (aq)]
• Where [H+ (aq)] is the concentration of H+ / H3O+ ions
• So, the calculation is:
• pH = -log (10-7) = 7
• Thus, water has a pH of 7
pH of acids
• Acidic solutions (strong or weak) always have more H+ than OH- ions
• Since the concentration of H+ is always greater than the concentration
of OH- ions, [H+] is always greater than 10-7 mol dm-3
• Using the pH formula, this means that the pH of acidic solutions is
always below 7
• The higher the [H+] of the acid, the lower the pH
pH of bases
• Basic solutions (strong or weak) always have more OH- than H+ ions
• Since the concentration of OH- is always greater than the concentration
of H+ ions, [H+] is always smaller than 10-7 mol dm-3
• Using the pH formula, this means that the pH of basic solutions is always above 7
• The higher the [OH-] of the base, the higher the pH
Strong & Weak Acids & Bases
• Strong and weak acids can be distinguished from each other by their:
• pH value (using a pH meter or universal indicator)
• Electrical conductivity
• Reactivity
• pH
• An acid dissociates into H+ in solution according to:
• HA → H+ + A-
• The stronger the acid, the greater the concentration of H+ and therefore
the lower the pH
• The most accurate way to determine the pH is by reading it off a pH meter
• The pH meter is connected to the pH electrode which shows the pH value
of the solution
• A less accurate method is to measure the pH using universal indicator paper
• The universal indicator paper is dipped into a solution of acid upon which the
paper changes colour
• The colour is then compared to those on a chart which shows the colours
corresponding to different pH values
Electrical conductivity
• Since a stronger acid has a higher concentration of H+ it conducts
electricity better
• Stronger acids therefore have a greater electrical conductivity
• The electrical conductivity can be determined by using a conductivity meter
• Like the pH meter, the conductivity meter is connected to an electrode
• The conductivity of the solution can be read off the meter
Reactivity
• Strong and weak acids of the same concentrations react differently
with reactive metals
• This is because the concentration of H+ is greater in strong acids
compared to weak acids
• The greater H+ concentration means that more H2 gas is produced
Neutralisation Reactions
• A neutralisation reaction is one in which an acid (pH <7) and a base/alkali

(pH >7) react together to form water (pH = 7) and a salt:
Acid + base (alkali) → salt + water
• The proton of the acid reacts with the hydroxide of the base to form
water:
H+ (aq) + OH– (aq) → H2O (l)
• The spectator ions which are not involved in the formation of water are
Na+ (aq) + Cl– (aq)
• These react to form the salt:
• Na+ (aq) + Cl– (aq) → NaCl (aq)
• The name of the salt produced can be predicted from the acid that has
reacted
pH Titration Curves
What are pH titration curves?

• Titration is a technique used in neutralisation reactions between acids and
alkalis to determine the concentration of the unknown solution
• It involves adding a titrant of known concentration from a burette into a
conical flask containing the analyte of unknown concentration
• An indicator is added which will change colour at the endpoint of the
titration
• The endpoint is the point at which an equal number of moles
of titrant and analyte react with each other
• The equivalence point is halfway along the vertical region of the curve
• Equivalence point → moles of alkali = moles of acid
• This is the point at which neutralisation takes place

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Acids and Bases

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Acids & Bases

• The Brønsted-Lowry Theory defines acids and bases in terms of

• A weak acid is an acid that partially (or incompletely) dissociates in

• The pH scale is a numerical scale that shows how acidic or alkaline a

• An equilibrium exists in water where few water molecules dissociate

• The equilibrium constant expression can be rearranged to:

• A neutralisation reaction is one in which an acid (pH <7) and a base/alkali

What are pH titration curves?

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