ACIDS AND BASES

GRADE 11
PART 1
Strong acids

A strong acid is a substance that ionises completely in water to

form a high concentration of H3 O+ . Examples of strong acids
include hydrochloric acid (HCl), sulphuric acid (H2 SO4 ) and
nitric acid (HNO3 ).
Strong bases

A strong base is a substance that dissociates (ionises)

completely in water to form a high concentration of OH − ions.
Examples include sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and potassium
hydroxide (KOH).
Weak acids

A weak acid is a substance that partially ionises in water to form a low concentration of H3 O+ .

Ethanoic acid CH3 COOH and oxalic acid (COOH)2 are examples of weak acids.
Weak bases

A weak base is a substance that dissociate/ionise

incompletely in water to form a low concentration of
OH − ions.

Examples include ammonia NH3 sodium hydrogen

carbonate (NaHCO3 ), sodium carbonate (Na2 CO3 ),
potassium carbonate (K 2 CO3 ) and calcium carbonate
(CaCO3 )
Concentrated acids or bases

A concentrated acid or base is one that contains a large amount

(number of moles) of acid/base in proportion to the volume of
water.

Concentrated solutions a have large amount of a substance

(solute) that has been added to a solvent. Both strong and
weak acids or bases can be used in concentrated solutions

Dilute acids or bases

A dilute acid or base is one that contains a small amount

(number of moles) of acid/base in proportion to the volume of
water.

In dilute solutions, there is more solvent than solute. Both

strong and weak acids and bases can be used in dilute
solutions.
Titration

The neutralisation reaction between an acid and a base can

be very useful.

For an example, if an acidic solution of known concentration

is added to an alkaline( basic) solution until the solution is
exactly neutralised (i.e. it has neither acidic nor basic
properties), it is possible to calculate the exact concentration
of the unknown solution. It is possible to do this because, at
the exact point where the solution is neutralised, chemically
equivalent amounts of acid and base have reacted with each
other.
This type of calculation is called volumetric analysis.

The process where an acid solution and a basic solution are

added to each other for this purpose, is called a titration,
This procedure is used for determining the amount of acid
(or base) in a solution by determining the volume of base (or
acid) of known concentration that will completely react with
it.
A titration uses a neutralisation reaction and stoichiometry
to calculate the concentration of the unknown solution. It is
a quantitative analysis of acids and bases
A pipette

Used to accurately measure the volume the analyte before

transferring it to a conical flask.

The solution that is being analysed or with an unknown

concentration is called the analyte or titrand.
Conical or Erlenmeyer flask

Used to house the analyte transferred from the pipette

Burette
to add small, measured volumes of the standard solution to the other
analyte. The solution of precisely known concentration is called the
standard solution or the titrant.
Basic set up of a Titration
Steps in a titration
1. Rinse the burette with the standard solution ( solution of
precisely known concentration)and not distilled water because
the drops of water will change the concentration of acid or base
and make it dilute. The pipette must be rinsed with the unknown
solution, and the conical flask with distilled water.
2. Set up the burette on a stand and place the conical flask
underneath the burette on a white tile.
3. Place an accurately measured volume of the analyte into the
Erlenmeyer flask using the pipette, along with a few drops of
indicator

4. Place the standardised solution into the burette, and indicate

its initial volume in a lab notebook.

5. Slowly add your titrant to the conical flask while stirring. More
accurate results are obtained if acid is added drop by drop near
to the end-point. At some point, adding one more drop of the
titrant will change the colour of the unknown solution. The
reaction would have reached end point. The end point is the
point in a titration where the indicator changes colour
Indicator

The role of indicator in titration is to detect the endpoint of the

titration.

An acid-base indicator is a weak acid, or a weak base, which

colour changes as the H+ ion concentration or the OH- ion
concentration in a solution changes.
Indicator choice
The choice of an indicator used in a titration used depends upon which acid and which base are being used.

The table below shows common indicators in titration.

Titration Type Preferred indicator Colour of Colour of Colour of pH range

acid end point base
strong acid Bromothymol yellow green blue 6,0 - 7,6
and strong blue
base
weak acid and phenolphthalein colourless faint pink Pink 8,3 - 10,0
strong base

strong acid Methyl red red orange yellow 4.4-6.2

and weak base
Titration Calculation

Given for example that the acid is the standard solution and the base is the analyte
the equation below can be used to calculate the concentration of the base.

concentration of acid × volume of acid number of moles of acid

=
concentration of base × volume of base number of moles of base

Ca Va na
=
Cb Vb nb

𝒏𝒂 and 𝒏𝒃 are the number of moles of acid and base respectively from a balanced
chemical equation of the acid and base.
pH scale
This is a scale of numbers from 0 to 14 used to measure of the acidity and basicity of solutions. Acids have a pH value
which is less than 7. The smaller the pH value the stronger the acid.
Bases or alkaline solutions (bases that dissolve in water) have a pH greater than 7. The higher the pH value the stronger
the base. All neutral substances have a pH equal to 7 as shown in the diagrams below.

 For an acidic solution : [H3 O+ ] > [OH −]

 For a basic solution : [H3 O+ ] < [OH − ]
 For a neutral solution : [H3 O+ ] = [OH − ]
Calculating pH

The pH scale provides a convenient way of expressing the hydrogen ion (H + ) or hydronium ion
(H3 O+ ) concentration of a solution and enables us to describe acidity or basicity in quantitative terms.

The pH of a substance is defined as the negative of the logarithm of the hydronium ion concentration in
moldm−3 .

The pH value has no units and can be calculated using the formula:

𝐩𝐇 = −𝐥𝐨𝐠[𝐇𝟑 𝐎+ ]
OR
𝐩𝐇 = −𝐥𝐨𝐠[𝐇 + ]
PAST EXAM PAPERS
2023 Gauteng November Paper 2 Q 7.2

A learner uses a standard solution of sodium hydrogen

carbonate to determine the concentration of a sulphuric acid
solution.
7.2.1 What is meant by a “standard solution”? (2)
7.2.2 Write down the balanced equation for the reaction of
sulphuric acid with water. (3)
7.3 In a titration, the learner finds that 20 cm3 of a
0,2 mol.dm-3 solution of sodium hydrogen carbonate
neutralises 12 cm3 of the sulphuric acid solution. The balanced
equation for this reaction is:
2NaHCO3 + H2 SO4 Na2 SO4 + 2CO2 + 2H2 O

7.3.1 Calculate the concentration of the H2 SO4 solution. (5)

7.3.2 Which of the indicators listed below should be used in
this titration? Briefly explain your answer. (3)

INDICATOR pH range in which colour

changes
Methyl orange 3.1 - 4.4
Bromothymol blue 6.0 – 7.6
Phenolphthalein 8.3 - 10.0
2015 Mpumalanga Preliminary Paper 2 Q 7.1.4 and 7.1.5 7.1.5 During the titration the learners find that 15cm3 of the KOH
A bottle in a laboratory contains dilute sulphuric acid of solution of concentration 0,2moldm-3 neutralizes 20cm3 of the
unknown concentration. Learners wish to determine the H2 SO4 solution. Calculate the concentration of the
H2 SO4 solution. (4)
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 aq + H2 SO4 l K 2 SO4 aq + 2H2 O(l)

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 2.9 - 4.0

Methyl red 4.4 - 6.0

Bromothymol blue 6.0 - 10.0

Phenolphthalein 8.3 - 10.0

2015 November Paper 2 Q 8.3
2022 Gauteng November Paper 2 Q 7.2
ACIDS AND BASES
GRADE 11
PART 2
2016 November Paper 2 Q 8.3
2017 November Paper 2 Q 8.2
2023 KwaZulu Natal November Paper 2 Q 8.5
2019 Eastern Cape Exemplar Paper 2 Q 8.2
Auto-ionasation of water Like all equilibrium constants, the ionic product, K w , of
 Water is capable of acting as either an acid or a base and water changes its value as the temperature changes. At
can undergo auto-ionisation. 25℃, K w = 1 × 10−14.
 The auto-ionisation of water refers to the reaction in which
a water molecule donates one of its protons to a In pure water, 𝐇𝟑 𝐎+ = [𝐎𝐇 − ], therefore:
neighboring water molecule, either in pure water or in H3 O+ [OH − ] = 1 × 10−14
aqueous solution. H3 O+ 2 = 1 × 10−14
 Under standard conditions; water will auto-ionise to a very H3 O+ = 1 × 10−14
small extent because it is a weak electrolyte. The result is H3 O+ = 1 × 10−7 moldm−3
the formation of a hydroxide ion (OH − ) and a hydronium So at 25℃ the pH of water is 7.
ion (H3 O+ ). The reaction can be written as follows:

H2 O aq + H2 O l ⇌ H3 O+ aq + OH − (aq)

This is an example of autoprotolysis and it exemplifies the

amphoteric nature of water. The auto-ionisation of water is an
equilibrium reaction.
The ionic product of water 𝑲𝒘 as the equilibrium constant for
the ionisation of water or the ion product of water or the
ionisation constant of water
𝐊 𝐰 = [𝐇𝟑 𝐎+ ] [𝐎𝐇 − ]
Preparation of the standard solution
Dissolving as solid
1.Calculate what mass of solid is needed to make the required
volume and
concentration of solution.
2. Measure out the mass of solid using an electronic scale.
3. Add the solid in half of the required volume of distilled
water in a volumetric flask.
4. Shake the flask carefully until all the solute (solid) has
dissolved.
5. Add more distilled water to fill up to the required volume.
To calculate the exact concentration of the prepared
solution, use the mass that was recorded on the scale and
the formula:
m
c=
MV
c: concentration of the prepared solution
m: mass of the solid
M: molar mass of the solid
V: volume of the solution
Diluting a more concentrated solution
We can prepare solutions by diluting an existing solution to a desired
concentration. A stock solution is used, which is usually a
concentrated solution. When a solution is diluted, the number of
moles of substance remains constant. Only the volume of the solution
changes.To make a standard solution using dilution follow the
following steps.
1. Calculate the volume of the stock solution needed to make the
2. solution using the formula:
𝐂𝟏 𝐕𝟏 = 𝐂𝟐 𝐕𝟐
C1 : the initial concentration
V1 : the initial volume
C2 : the final concentration
V2 : the final volume
Note that ∶ V2 is the sum of the amount of distilled water added
(for dilution) and the initial volume V1
1. Measure the volume of the stock solution using a pipette
2. Add the volume of stock solution to the appropriate sized
volumetric flask
1. Fill volumetric flask to line to the mark
2. Put on cap and invert to mix
2020 Eastern Cape November Paper 2 Q 8.3

40 g of IMPURE calcium carbonate reacts with a 200 cm3 of a

dilute sulphuric acid with a concentration of 1,5 mol∙dm-3. All
the calcium carbonate and sulphuric acid react completely
leaving the impurities unreacted at the completion of the
reaction.

CaCO3 (s) + H2 SO4 (aq) CaSO4 (s) + CO2 (g) + H2 O(l)

8.3.1 Calculate the percentage purity of the calcium
carbonate. (6)

To obtain the sulphuric acid solution of concentration

1,5 mol.dm-3 that reacted with the IMPURE calcium carbonate,
10 cm3 of a concentrated sulphuric acid solution of
concentration 9 mol∙dm-3 was added to water.
8.3.2 Calculate the volume of water required to dilute the
concentrated sulphuric acid solution to a concentration of
1,5 mol∙dm-3. (4)
2019 November Paper 2 Q 8
CONTINUED………..
2015 Mpumalanga Preliminary Paper 2 Q 7.1.1-7.1.2

A bottle in a laboratory contains dilute sulphuric acid of

unknown concentration. 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 aq + H2 SO4 l K 2 SO4 aq + 2H2 O(l)

7.1.1 What is a standard solution? (1)

7.1.2 Calculate the mass of KOH which he must use to
make the 300 cm3 of a 0.2 moldm-3 KOH solution (3)
2015 Gauteng Preliminary Paper 2 Q 7.1 and 7.2.2-7.5.3

7.1 Define a Bronsted-Lowry base (2)

7.2.2 Write down the FORMULA for the conjugate base
of HCl (1)
7.3
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
She rinses the burette with He rinses the burette with
the acid before filling it to water before filling it to the
the mark with the acid mark with the acid

Explain why Sam used an INCORRECT method (1)

 CONTINUED……
7.5 A solution of potassium hydroxide is made by
dissolving 8,0g of potassium hydroxide in a 250cm3 of distilled
water.
7.5.1 Calculate the concentration of the potassium hydroxide
solution. (3)
7.5.2 A 25,0 cm3 of this solution prepared as above is titrated
and neutralized against a 40,0 cm3 of a DILUTE sulphuric
acid solution
The reaction is as follows:
2KOH aq + H2 SO4 l K 2 SO4 aq + 2H2 O l
Calculate the concertation of the DILUTE acid (4)
7.5.3 The dilute sulphuric acid 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
sulphuric acid (4)