ACIDS

 An acid is a substance that produces hydrogen (H+) ions when dissolved

(dissociated ) in water.
 There are two main types of acids
a) Organic acids
b) Inorganic acids/mineral acids

Organic acids

 These are acids found in both plant and animal materials

Examples

Name Where Found Or Used

1. Citric Acid Citrus Fruits E.G. Oranges, Lemons
2. Tartaric Acid Grapes ,Health Salts ,Baking Powder
3. Lactic Acid Sour Milk
4. EthanoicAcid Vinegar
5. MethanoicAcid In Ants ,Bee And Nettle Stings
6. Carbonic Acid Coke, Lemonade, Other Fizzy Drinks
7. ButanoicAcid Cheese
8. Tannic Tea

Mineral acids

 These are acids formed from reactions of chemicals.

 They are common in school laboratories.

Examples

Name Where found or used

1. Hydrochloric Found as dilute acid in the stomach used to
acid clean metal surfaces
Car batteries, used to make fertilizers,
2. Sulphuric acid detergents.
3. Nitric acid Making fertilizers and explosives

1|Page
Properties of Acids

1. They have a sour taste

2. There are corrosive to the skin or surfaces
3. They react with metals to form a salt and hydrogen gas
4. They react with carbonates to form a salt water and carbon dioxide gas.
5. They react with bases to form salt and water
6. They turn blue litmus red
7. They have a PH of less than 7

pH and Indicators
The pH scale

 pH is the acidity or alkalinity of a substance .

 The pH scale ranges from about 0 to about 14, and tells you how acidic or how
alkaline solution is

2|Page
 Measuring pH
Using universal indicators.

 Universal indicators are made from a mixture of dyes, which change colour in
a gradual way over a range of pH.
 It can be used as a solution or as a paper.
 It changes through a variety of colours from pH1 right up to pH 14. Though it
isn’t very accurate.
 The colour of the paper or solution is always checked against a chart to find the
correct pH.

Using a pH meter.

3|Page
  It is an accurate way to measure pH.
 Before a pH meter, it has to be adjusted to make sure it is reading accurately.
To do this, it is put into a solution with a known pH and the reading is adjusted
so that it gives exactly that value.

Simple indicators
 Any substance that has more than one colour form depending on the pH can be
used as an indicator.
 The commonest one is Litmus.
 Litmus is red in acidic solution and blue in alkaline solutions.
 Two other commonly known indicators are methyl orange and
phenolphthalein. Methyl orange is yellow in alkaline solutions and red in
acidic solutions.

Colour of indicators in acids and bases

Indicator Colour In Acid Colour In Base Colour in

Solution (Alkali) neutral solution
Litmus Paper Red Blue Purple

Methyl-Orange Pink Yellow Orange

Phenolphthalein Colourless Pink Colourless

Simple acid –base indicators

Preparing an indicator from plant extracts

 Apparatus and chemicals

 Test –tubes
 Pestle and mortar
 Petals of a flower
 Propanone or ethanol
 Water
 Aqueous solutions/suspensions of wood ash lemon juice, soap, baking, powder,
anti-acid tablets and powders, tooth paste sour milk, ammonium sulphate sodium
chloride, sodium hydroxide ,carbo (iv) oxide
4|Page
Procedure

1. Crush some flower petals in a mortar using a pestle

2. Add a little amount of propanone or ethanol
3. Grind the petals until you get enough extract of the flower used.
4. Filter the liquid into a clean beaker.
5. Note the colour of your filtrate .if it is faint concentrate by evaporating a little of
the solvent.
-this is now the laboratory made indicator
6. Half fill one test-tube with dilute hydrochloric acid and another one with sodium
hydroxide solution
7. Add a few drops of the indicator to each of the two test-tubes and shake.
8. Note and record the colour changes in a table
9. Use your indicator to test the other solutions provided

 When sulphuric acid, lemon juice and sour milk are used, the colour of the pant
extract changes to the same colour as when hydrochloric acid is used .this shows
that these solutions are acidic.

Reacting acids with metals

 Simple dilute acids react with metals depending on their positions in the
reactivity series.
 Metals above hydrogen in the series react to produce hydrogen gas.
 The higher the metal is in the reactivity series the more vigorous the reactions.
 Metals such as potassium and sodium react violently and so should not tried in
the laboratory.

Metal + acid salt + hydrogen

SALTS
 A salt is a compound formed after the hydrogen of an acid is replaced by a
metal e.g magnesium sulphate, zinc chloride and potassium nitrate.

Parent acid Salts

Sulphuric acid Sulphates
Hydrochloric acid Chlorides
Nitric acid Nitrates
5|Page
 Reactions involving magnesium and acids
With dilute sulphuric acid.

 There is a rapid fizzing and colourless gas is evolved (Hydrogen – it pops

with a lighted splint)
 The magnesium gradually disappears to leave a colourless solution of
magnesium sulphate.

Mg(s) +H2SO4(aq) MgSO(aq) + H2(g)

 The above is a displacement reaction.

With dilute hydrochloric acid

 The reaction is exactly the same as above only that a solution of magnesium
chloride is formed.

Mg(s) + 2HCl(aq) MgCl2(aq) + H2(g)

Ionic equations of the above reactions.

Mg(s) + 2H+(aq) + SO42-(aq) Mg2+(aq) + SO42-(aq) + H2(g)

Mg(s) + 2H+(aq) Mg2+(aq) + H2(g)

Mg(s) + 2H+(aq) + 2Cl-(aq) Mg2+(aq) + 2Cl-(aq) + H2(g)

Mg(s) + 2H+(aq) Mg2+ + H2(g)

 The reaction looks the same because they are the same. All acids in solution
contain hydrogen ions. Therefore magnesium will react with any simple
dilute acid in same way.

Reaction between zinc and acids.

 Zinc reacts much slower with acids because it is lower down the activity
series than magnesium.
6|Page
  The reaction can be speeded up if it is heated or if the zinc is impure.
Zn(s) + H2SO4(aq) ZnSO4(aq) +H2(g)

Zn(s) + HCl (aq) ZnCl2(aq) + H2(g)

Ionic equation

Zn(s) + 2H+(aq) Zn2+(aq) + H2(g)

Making hydrogen in the lab

 Hydrogen is made from zinc and dilute sulphuric acid, with a very small amount
of copper (II) sulphate solution added to speed up the reaction.

Testing for hydrogen

 Hydrogen reacts with oxygen in the presence of a flame or a spark to give water. A
lighted splint placed at the mouth of a test tube of hydrogen will give a squeaky
pop as the hydrogen reacts with oxygen in the air.

2H2(g) + O2(g) 2H2O(l)

7|Page
 Reacting acids with metal oxides.
Dilute sulphuric acid with copper (II) oxide.
 The black powder reacts with hot dilute sulphuric acid to produce a blue solution
of copper (II) sulphate.

CuO(s) + H2SO4(aq) CuSO4(aq) + H2O(l)

Metal oxide + acid Salt + Water.

Ionic equation
 Oxide ions combine with hydrogen ions to make water . this is a neutralization
reaction.

BASES
 Abase is a substance that combines with hydrogen ions.
 A base is a substance that produces hydroxide ions (OH-) when
dissociated/dissolved in water
 Bases cancel out acids. Drugs called anti-acids (bases) are taken to relieve acidity
and heart born
 Bases that are soluble in water are known as Alkalis

Bases Where found or used

1. Magnesium oxide Antiacid indigestion tablets
2. Calcium oxide Making cement, neutralizing soil acidity.
Alkalis
1. Sodium hydroxide Making soap and paper
2. Ammonia solution Making fertilizers
Cleaning fluids at home

Properties of bases

1. Has a bitter taste

2. Has a PH of more than 7
3. React with acids to form a salt and water
4. Turn red litmus paper blue

Reacting acid with metal hydroxides.

8|Page
  All metal hydroxides react with acids but the ones most commonly used in the lab
are the soluble hydroxides, usually sodium, and potassium or calcium hydroxide
solutions.

Metal hydroxide + acid Salt + Water

Reacting dilute hydroxide acid with sodium hydroxide solution.

 Sodium chloride solution is formed in the reaction

NaOH(aq) + HCl(aq) NaCl(aq) + H2O(l)

Ionic equation

OH-(aq) + H+(aq) H2O(l)

 This is another example of a neutralization reaction.

 The hydroxide ion is a base because it combines with hydrogen ions.
 Solutions of soluble bases are alkaline, having a pH greater than 7 because they
contain hydroxide ions.

Following the course of a neutralization reaction.

 It is not possible to tell when enough acid has been added to an alkali to produce a
neutral solution. This is because the solution is colourless.
 An indicator can be used to tell solution whether neutralization has taken place or
not.
 An indicator will change the colour of the solution depending on the solutions pH.
 A common indicator used is methyl orange. Methyl orange is yellow in alkaline
solution and red in acid. The alkali is neutralised when the solution shows the first
trace of orange. If it turns red, then it means there is too much acid.

Reacting acids with carbonates

 Carbonates react with cod dilute acids to produce carbo dioxide gas.

Carbonate + Acid Salt + carbon dioxide gas + water

Copper (II) carbonate and dilute acids

9|Page
  The green copper (II) carbonate reacts with the common dilute acids to give a
blue or blue –green solution of copper (II) sulphate; copper nitrate or copper
(II) Chloride.

CuCO3 ( s ) + H 2 SO4 ( aq ) CuSO 4 ( aq ) +CO 2 ( g ) + H 2 O(l)

CuCO3 ( s ) + HNO3 ( aq ) Cu ¿ ¿

CuCO3 ( s ) +2 HCl ( aq ) CuCl2 ( aq ) +CO 2 ( aq ) + H 2 O(l)

Ionic equation
+ ¿ ( aq ) CO2 ( g)+ H 2 O (l)¿
( s) +2 H ¿
CO 2−¿
3

Theories of acids and bases

The Arrhenius theory (1887)

 Arrhenius; a Swedish chemist suggested that acids produced hydrogen ion

when they were dissolved in water.
 He also thought that bases were solutions containing hydroxides ions.

The bonsted – Lawry Theory

 He defined an acid as a proton (hydrogen ion) donor and a base as proton

(hydrogen ion ) acceptor.
 When hydrogen chloride dissolves in water to give hydrochloric acid, a proton
(a hydrogen ion) is transferred from the HCl to the water.
 The hydrogen nucleus breaks away from chloride leaving its electron behind.

H2O(l) + HCl(g) H3O+(aq) + Cl-(aq)

H3O+ is called the hydroxonium ion. This is the ion normally written as H+(aq)
 According to the Bronsted theory, the HCl is an acid because it is giving a
proton (hydrogen ion) to the water. The water is acting as a base because it is
accepting a proton.
 Hydrogen chloride gas reacts in a similar way with ammonia gas to produce
ammonium chloride.

10 | P a g e
  The ammonia acts as a base by accepting the proton; the HCl acts as an acid by
donating it.

Ammonium ion, NH4+ is formed.

Ammonium ion

NH3(g) + HCl(g) NH4+(s) + Cl-(s)

Acids in solution

 Acid in solution are acidic because of the presence of the hydroxonium ion.

H+(aq) + OH- (aq) H2O(l)

 In the above equation the hydroxonium ion donates a proton to the base, OH-

H3O+(aq) + OH-(aq) 2H2O(l)

Hydrogen Chloride and hydrochloric acid.
 Hydrogen chloric is a gas while hydrochloric acid is a solution.

H2O(l) + HCl(g) H3O+(aq) +Cl-(aq)

 It is the presence of the hydroxonium ions which gives hydrochloric acid its
simple acidic properties.
 If you dissolve hydrogen chloride gas in methylbenzene, the solution doesn’t
show hydrochloric acid’s simple acidic properties, provided there isn’t even a
trace of water present.
a) It won’t turn blue litmus paper red (provided the paper is also perfectly dry)
b) It won’t react with magnesium ribbon to produce hydrogen.
c) It won’t react with marble chips to produce carbon dioxide.
 If there is any trace of water present, the hydrogen chloride reacts with it, and
its simple acidic properties are restored.

11 | P a g e