Acids, Bases and Salts

All substances are either acidic, neutral or basic (alkaline). How acidic or basic a substance is, is
shown by its pH. There are several other ways by which we could find out whether a substance is
acidic, neutral or basic.

pH metre with a pH Scale:

The pH scale runs from 0 to 14. Substances with a pH below 7 are acidic. Substances with pH
above 7 are basic. And those with pH 7 are neutral.

Indicators:

Indicators are substances that identify acidity or alkalinity of substances. They cannot be used in
solid form.

Universal Indicator:

This is a substance that changes colour when added to another substance depending on its pH.
The substance should be in aqueous form and the indicator can be in solution (aqueous) form or
paper form.

Litmus Paper or Solution:

This indicator is present in two colours: red and blue. We use blue litmus if we want test a
substance for acidity. We use red litmus if we want to test a substance for alkalinity. Its results
are:

 Acids: Turns blue litmus paper/ solution red,

 Bases: Turns red litmus paper/ solution blue,
 Neutral: if it is used as paper the colour doesn’t change. If it is used as solution it turns
purple.

Note: use damp litmus paper if testing gases.

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Phenolphthalein:

This is an indicator that is used to test for alkalinity because it is colourless if used with an acidic
or neutral substance and it is pink if it is used with a basic substance.

Methyl Orange:

This indicator gives five colours: Red with acids, yellow with neutrals and orange with bases.

Acids:
Acids are substances made of a hydrogen ion and non-metal ions. They have the following
properties:

 They dissolve in water producing a hydrogen ion H+,

 They have a sour taste,
 Strong ones are corrosive,
 Their pH is less than 7.

All acids must be in aqueous form to be called an acid. For example Hydrochloric acid is
hydrogen chloride gas dissolved in water. The most common acids are:

 Hydrochloric acid, HCl,

 Sulphuric Acid, H2SO4,
 Nitric Acid, HNO3,
 Citric Acid,
 Carbonic Acid, H2CO3.

Strength of Acids:

One of the most important properties of acids is that it gives hydrogen ion, H+(aq) when
dissolved in water. This is why the amount of H+ ions the acid can give when dissolved in water
is what determines its strength. This is called ionization or dissociation. The more ionized the
acid is the stronger it is, the lower its pH. The more H+ ions given when the acid is dissolved in
water the more ionized the acid is.

Strong Acids: Weak Acids:

 Have pH’s: 0,1,2,3  Have pH’s: 4,5,6

 They are fully ionized  They are partially ionized
 When dissolved in water,  When dissolved in water,
they give large amounts of they give small amounts of
H+ ions. Examples: H+ ions. Examples:

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  Ethanoic acid (acetic
 Hydrochloric Acid
acid), CH3COOH
 Sulphuric Acid
 Citric Acid
 Nitric Acid
 Carbonic Acid

Hydrochloric acid is a strong acid. When it is dissolved in water all HCl molecules are ionized
into H+ and Cl- ions. It is fully ionized.

Ethanoic acid has the formula CH3COOH. It is a weak acid. When it is dissolved in water, only
some of the CH3COOH molecules are ionized into CH3COO- and H+ ions. It is partially ionized.

Note: Acids with pH 3 or 4 can be considered moderate in strength.

Solutions of strong acids are better conductors of electricity than solutions of weak acids. This is
because they contain much more free mobile ions to carry the charge.

Concentrated acids are not necessarily strong. The concentration of an acid only means the
amount of molecules of the acid dissolved in water. Concentrated acids have a large amount of
acid molecules dissolved in water. Dilute acids have a small amount of acid molecules dissolved
in water. Concentration is not related to strength of the acids. Strong acids are still strong even if
they are diluted. And weak acids are still weak even if they are concentrated.

Bases:
Bases are substances made of hydroxide OH- ions or O2- ions and a metal. Bases can be made of:

 Metal hydroxide (metal ion & OH- ion)

 Metal oxides
 Metal carbonates (metal ion & CO32-)
 Metal hydrogen carbonate (Bicarbonate)
 Ammonium hydroxide (NH4OH)
 Ammonium Carbonate ((NH4)2CO3)

Properties of bases:

 Bitter taste
 Soapy feel
 Have pH’s above 7
 Strong ones are corrosive

Some bases are water soluble and some bases are water insoluble. Water soluble bases are also
called alkalis.

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Like acids, alkalis' strength is determined by its ability to be ionized into metal and hydroxide
OH- ions. Completely ionized alkalis are the strongest and partially ionized alkalis are the
weakest. Ammonium hydroxide is one of the weakest alkalis while strong alkalis include the
hydroxides of sodium, potassium and magnesium.

Types of Oxides:
Acidic Oxides
Basic Oxides
Amphoteric Oxides  They are all non-
metal oxides except non-
 They are metal oxides
 These are oxides of metal monoxides
 They react with acids
Aluminum, Zinc & Lead  They are gases
forming a salt and water
 They act as an acid  They react with an
 They are solids
when reacting with an alkali to form salt and
 They are insoluble in
alkali & vice versa water
water except group 1
 Their element’s  Examples: CO2, NO2,
metal oxides.
hydroxides are SO2 (are all acidic
 They react with an
amphoteric too oxides)
acid forming salt and
 They produce salt  Note: metal
water
and water when reacting monoxides are neutral
 Examples: Na2O,
with an acid or an alkali. oxides; CO, NO.
CaO and CuO
Also H2O is a neutral
oxide.

Salts:

A salt is a neutral ionic compound. Salts are one of the products of a reaction between an acid
and a base. Salts are formed in reactions in which the H+ ion from the acid is replaced by any
other metal ion (with the exception of ammonium salts). Some salts are soluble in water and
some are insoluble.

Insoluble Salts:
Soluble Salts:
 Silver and lead chlorides
 All Nitrates
(AgCl & PbCl2)
 All halides EXCEPT
 Calcium, barium and lead
AgCl and PbCl2
sulphates (CaSO4, BaSO4,
 All sulphates EXCEPT
PbSO4)
CaSO4, BaSO4, PbSO4
 All carbonates EXCEPT
 All group 1 metals salts
those of group 1 metals and
 All ammonium salts
ammonium carbonates

Preparing Soluble Salts:

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Displacement Method (Excess Metal Method):

Metal + Acid → Salt + Hydrogen

Note: this type of method is suitable for making salts of moderately reactive metals because
highly reactive metals like K, Na and Ca will cause an explosion when reacted with acid. This
method is used with the MAZIT (Magnesium, Aluminum, Zinc, Iron and Tin) metals only.

Example: set up an experiment to obtain magnesium chloride salt.

Mg + 2HCl → MgCl2 + H2

1. Add 100 cm3 of dilute hydrochloric acid to a beaker

2. Add excess mass of powdered magnesium
3. When the reaction is done, filter the mixture to get rid of excess magnesium (residue)
4. The filtrate is magnesium chloride solution
5. To obtain magnesium chloride powder, evaporate the solution till dryness
6. To obtain magnesium chloride crystals, heat the solution while continuously dipping a
glass rod in the solution
7. When you observe crystals starting to form on the glass rod, turn heat off and leave the
mixture to cool down slowly
8. When the crystals are obtained, dry them between two filter papers

Observations of this type of reactions:

 Bubbles of colourless gas evolved (hydrogen). To test, approach a lighted splint; if

hydrogen is present it makes a pop sound
 The temperature rises (exothermic reaction)
 The metal disappears

You know the reaction is over when:

 No more gas evolves

 No more magnesium can dissolve
 The temperature stops rising
 The solution becomes neutral

Proton Donor and Acceptor Theory:

When an acid and a base react, water is formed. The acid gives away H+ ion and the base accepts
it to form water by bonding it with the OH- ion. A hydrogen ion is also called a proton. This is
why an acid can be called Proton Donor and a base can be called Proton Acceptor.

Neutralization Method:

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 Acis + Base → Salt + Water

Note: This method is used to make salts of metals below hydrogen in the reactivity series. If the
base is a metal oxide or metal hydroxide, the products will be salt and water only. If the base is a
metal carbonate, the products will be salt, water and carbon dioxide.

Type 1:

Acid + Metal Oxide → Salt + Water

To obtain copper sulphate salt given copper oxide and sulphuric acid:

CuO + H2SO4 → CuSO4 + H2O

 Add 100 cm3 of sulphuric acid to a beaker

 Add excess mass of Copper (II) oxide
 When the reaction is over, filter the excess copper (II) oxide off
 The filtrate is a copper (II) sulphate solution; to obtain copper (II) sulphate powder
evaporate the solution till dryness
 To obtain copper (II) sulphate crystals, heat the solution while continuously dipping a
glass rod in it
 When you observe crystals starting to form on the glass rod, turn heat of and leave the
mixture to cool down slowly
 When you obtain the crystals dry them between two filter papers

Observations of this reaction:

 The amount of copper oxide decreases

 The solution changes colour from colourless to blue
 The temperature rises
 You know the reaction is over when no more copper oxide dissolves, the temperature
stops rising and the solution become neutral

Type 2:

Acid + insoluble Metal Hydroxide → Salt + Water

to obtain zinc chloride crystals given zinc hydroxide and hydrochloric acid:

2HCl + Zn(OH)2 → ZnCl2 + 2H2O

 Add 100 cm3 of dilute hydrochloric acid to a beaker

 Add excess mass of zinc hydroxide
 When the reaction is over, filter the excess zinc hydroxide off
 The filtrate is zinc chloride solution.
 To obtain zinc chloride powder, evaporate the solution till dryness

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  To obtain zinc chloride crystals, heat the solution while continuously dipping a glass rod
in it
 When crystals start to form on the glass rod, turn heat off and leave the mixture to cool
down slowly
 When the crystals are obtained, dry them between two filter papers

Observations:

 zinc hydroxide starts disappearing

 Temperature rises

You know the reaction is over when:

 The temperature stops rising

 No more zinc hydroxide can dissolve
 The pH of the solution becomes neutral

Type 3:

Acid + Metal Carbonate → Salt + Water + Carbon Dioxide

To obtain copper sulphate salt given copper (II) carbonate and sulphuric acid:

CuCO3 + H2SO4 → CuSO4 + H2O + CO2

 Add 100 cm3 of dilute sulphuric acid to a beaker

 Add excess mass of copper (II) carbonate
 When the reaction is over, filter excess copper (II) carbonate off
 The filtrate is a copper (II) sulphate solution; to obtain copper (II) sulphate powder,
evaporate the solution till dryness
 To obtain copper (II) sulphate crystals, heat the solution while continuously dipping a
glass rod in it
 When you observe crystals starting to form on the glass rod, turn heat off and leave the
mixture to cool down slowly
 When you obtain the crystals dry them between two filter papers

Observations:

 Bubbles of colourless gas (carbon dioxide) evolved; test by approaching lighted splint, if
the CO2 is present the flame will be put off
 Green Copper (II) carbonate starts to disappear
 The temperature rises
 The solution turns blue

You know the reaction is finished when:

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  No more bubbles are evolving
 The temperature stops rising
 No more copper carbonate can dissolve
 The pH of the solution becomes neutral

Titration Method:

This is a method to make a neutralization reaction between a soluble base

(alkali) and an acid producing a salt without addition of any excess
reagent. In this method, the experiment is preformed twice, the first time
is to find the amounts of reactants to use, and the second experiment is
the actual one, without any indicator addition.

1st Experiment:

 Add 25 cm3 of sodium hydroxide using a pipette to be accurate to

conical flask
 Add 5 drops of phenolphthalein indicator to the sodium
hydroxide. The solution turns pink indicating presence of a base
 Fill a burette to zero mark with hydrochloric acid
 Add steady drops of the acid to conical flask
 The pink colour of the solution becomes lighter
 When the solution turns colourless, stop adding the acid (End
point is reached: the point at which every base molecule is
neutralized by an acid molecule)
 Record the amount of hydrochloric acid used and repeat the
experiment without using the indicator
 After the 2nd experiment, you will have a sodium chloride
solution. Evaporate it till dryness to obtain powdered sodium
chloride or crystalize it to obtain sodium chloride crystals

Preparing Insoluble Salts:

Precipitation Method:

A precipitation reaction is a reaction between two soluble salts. The products of a precipitation
reaction are two other salts, one of them is soluble and one is insoluble (precipitate).

Example: To obtain barium sulphate salt given barium chloride and sodium sulphate:

BaCl2(aq) + Na2SO4(aq) → BaSO4(s) + 2NaCl(aq)

Ionic Equation: Ba2+(aq) + SO42-(aq) → BaSO4(s)

 Add the two salt solutions in a beaker

 When the reaction is over, filter and take the residue

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  Wash the residue with cold distilled water and dry it between filter paper.

Observations:

 Temperature increases
 An insoluble solid precipitate (Barium sulphate) forms

You know the reaction is over when:

 The temperature stops rising

 No more precipitate is being formed

Controlling Soil pH:

If the pH of the soil goes below or above 7, it has to be neutralized using an acid or a base. If the
pH of the soil goes below 7, calcium carbonate (limestone) is used to neutralize it. The pH of the
soil can be measured by taking a sample from the soil, crushing it, dissolving in water then
measuring the pH of the solution.

Colours of Salts:

Salt Formula Solid In Solution

Hydrated copper (II)sulphate CuSO4.5H2O Blue crystals Blue
Anhydrous copper (II) sulphate CuSO4 White powder Blue
Copper (II) nitrate Cu(NO3)2 Blue crystals Blue
Copper (II) chloride CuCl2 Green Green
Copper (II) carbonate CuCO3 Green Insoluble
Copper (II) oxide CuO Black Insoluble
Iron (II) salts E.g.: FeSO4, Fe(NO3)2 Pale green crystals Pale green
Iron (III) salts E.g.: Fe(NO3)3 Reddish brown Reddish brown

Tests for Gases:

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 Gas Formula Tests
Ammonia NH3 Turns damp red litmus paper blue
Carbon dioxide CO2 Turns limewater milky
Oxygen O2 Relights a glowing splint
Hydrogen H2 ‘Pops’ with a lighted splint
Chlorine Cl2 Bleaches damp litmus paper
Nitrogen dioxide NO2 Turns damp blue litmus paper red
Turns acidified aqueous potassium dichromate(VI) from orange to
Sulfur dioxide SO2
green

Tests for Anions:

Anion Test Result

Effervescence,
Carbonate (CO32-) Add dilute acid
carbon dioxide produced
Chloride (Cl-) Acidify with dilute nitric acid, then add
White ppt.
(in solution) aqueous silver nitrate
Iodide (I-) Acidify with dilute nitric acid, then add
Yellow ppt.
(in solution) aqueous silver nitrate
Nitrate (NO3-) Add aqueous sodium hydroxide, then
Ammonia produced
(in solution) aluminium foil; warm carefully
Sulphate (SO42-) Acidify, then add aqueous barium nitrate White ppt.

Tests for aqueous cations:

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 Cation Effect of aqueous sodium hydroxide Effect of aqueous ammonia
White ppt., soluble in excess giving a
Aluminium (Al3+) White ppt., insoluble in excess
colourless solution
Ammonium (NH4+) Ammonia produced on warming –
2+
Calcium (Ca ) White ppt., insoluble in excess No ppt. or very slight white ppt.
Light blue ppt., soluble in excess,
Copper (Cu2+) Light blue ppt., insoluble in excess
giving a dark blue solution
Iron(II) (Fe2+) Green ppt., insoluble in excess Green ppt., insoluble in excess
Iron(III) (Fe3+) Red-brown ppt., insoluble in excess Red-brown ppt., insoluble in excess
White ppt., soluble in excess, White ppt., soluble in excess,
Zinc (Zn2+)
giving a colourless solution giving a colourless solution

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