Acids, Bases and Salts

ACIDS BASES
• Sour in taste • Bitter in taste
• Change the colour of blue • Change the colour of the red
litmus to red litmus to blue
• Non-soapy to touch • Soapy to touch

Acid-base indicators- Indicate the presence of acid or base in a solution.

 Acid-base
indicators

Synthetic indicators-
Natural Indicators- Phenolphthalein, Olfactory indicators-
Litmus,
Methyl orange The substances whose
Red cabbage leaves, odour changes in acidic or
Turmeric, basic media.
Coloured petals of some For example-Vanilla, Onion,
flowers such as Hydrangea,
Petunia and Geranium
Clove .
• Litmus solution is a purple dye, which is extracted from lichen, a plant belonging to the division
Thallophyta, and is commonly used as an indicator.
• When the litmus solution is neither acidic nor basic, its colour is purple
• Turmeric gives yellow colour in acidic medium and brownish red in basic medium.
• Red cabbage is purple in neutral solutions, gives red in acidic, and bluish green or greenish
yellow in basic solutions
• Phenolphthalein is colourless in acidic medium while gives pink colour in basic medium.
• Methyl orange gives red colour in acidic medium while it gives yellow colour in basic medium.
• Clove smells as such in acid but the smell loses in presence of base.
• Onion loses its smell when added with base, it does not change its smell with acid.
• Vanilla: The smell of vanilla vanishes with base, but it’s smell does not vanishes with an acid.
  Acids used in laboratory- Hydrochloric acid (HCl), Sulphuric acid (H 2SO4), Nitric acid (HNO3), Acetic

acid (CH3COOH)

 Bases used in laboratory- Sodium hydroxide (NaOH), Calcium hydroxide [Ca(OH) 2], Potassium

hydroxide (KOH), Magnesium hydroxide [Mg(OH)2], Ammonium hydroxide [NH4OH]

Try yourself:-

 You have been provided with three test tubes. One of them contains distilled water and the other two contain an
acidic solution and a basic solution, respectively. If you are given only red litmus paper, how will you identify
the contents of each test tube?
 Chemical Reactions of Acids
Reactions of Acids with Metals:- Acid + Metal  Salt + Hydrogen gas

𝐻 2 𝑆 𝑂 4 ( 𝑎𝑞 )+ 𝑍𝑛(𝑠)→ 𝑍𝑛𝑆𝑂 4 ( 𝑎𝑞 ) +𝐻 2 (𝑔)

Figure -Reaction of zinc granules with

dilute sulphuric acid and testing hydrogen
gas by burning
 Reactions of Acids with Metal Carbonates and Metal Hydrogen carbonates :-
Metal carbonate/ Metal hydrogen carbonate + Acid → Salt + Carbon dioxide + Water

On passing the carbon dioxide gas evolved through lime water,

lime water turns milky

(Lime water) (White precipitate)

On passing excess carbon dioxide the following reaction takes
place:

Calcium hydrogen carbonate forms which is soluble in water

Figure Limestone, chalk and marble are different forms of calcium

Passing carbon dioxide gas through calcium hydroxide carbonate.
solution
 Chemical Reactions of Acids and Bases

Reaction of Acids with Bases:-

Activity:-

Effect of a base is nullified by an acid and vice-versa.

NaOH(aq) + HCl(aq) → NaCl(aq) +
The reaction between an acid and a base to give a salt and water is known as a neutralisation reaction.
Base + Acid → Salt + Water
 Reaction of Metallic Oxides with Acids-

Activity

The blue-green colour of the solution is due to the formation of copper(II) chloride in the reaction
Metal oxide + Acid → Salt + Water

black
Since metallic oxides react with acids to give salts and water, similar to the reaction of a base with an acid,
metallic oxides are said to be basic oxides.
Reactions of Bases with Metals:-

 Base + Metal → Salt + Hydrogen gas

Sodium zincate
 However, such reactions are not possible with all metals.

Reaction of a Non-metallic Oxide with Base:-

 Non-metal oxide + Base → Salt + Water ( Non-metal oxides are acidic in nature)
 e.g. reaction between carbon dioxide and calcium hydroxide (lime water)
 Try yourself:-

 Which gas is usually liberated when an acid reacts with a metal? Illustrate with an example. How will you test
for the presence of this gas?

 Metal compound A reacts with dilute hydrochloric acid to produce effervescence. The gas evolved
extinguishes a burning candle. Write a balanced chemical equation for the reaction if one of the compounds
formed is calcium chloride
 WHAT DO ALL ACIDS AND ALL BASES HAVE IN COMMON?

• All acids have similar chemical properties

• All acids generate hydrogen gas on reacting with metals, so hydrogen seems to be common to all acids.
• Whether all compounds containing hydrogen are acidic?
Activity:-
• Take solutions of glucose, alcohol, hydrochloric acid, sulphuric acid.
And perform the experiment as shown in fig and observe what
happens to bulb.
• The bulb will start glowing in the case of hydrochloric acid, sulphuric
acid not with glucose and alcohol solutions
• Glowing of the bulb indicates that there is a flow of electric current
through the solution. The electric current is carried through the
solution by ions.
• Since the cation present in acids is , this suggests that acids produce
Repeat the same Activity using alkalis such as
hydrogen ions, (aq), in solution, which are responsible for their
sodium hydroxide, calcium hydroxide, etc
acidic properties
 What Happens to an Acid or a Base in a Water Solution?
Do acids produce ions only in aqueous solution?
Activity:-
• Take some solid NaCl in a clean and dry test tube and add some
concentrated sulphuric acid to the test tube.
• A gas coming out of the delivery tube.
• Test the gas evolved successively with dry and wet blue litmus
paper.
• The colour of dry blue litmus paper does not change while colour
of wet blue litmus paper changes to red.
• It results that
(i) dry HCl gas-is not acidic
(ii) HCl solution- is acidic
• This experiment suggests that hydrogen ions in HCl are produced in the presence of water.
• The separation of ion from HCl molecules cannot occur in the absence of water.
• Hydrogen ions cannot exist alone, but they exist after combining with water molecules.
• Thus hydrogen ions must always be shown as (aq) or hydronium ion .

• Acids give or (aq) ion in water.

• Let us see what happens when a base is dissolved in water.

• K
• Mg
• Bases generate hydroxide ions in water.
• Bases which are soluble in water are called alkalis.
 • All bases do not dissolve in water. An alkali is a base that dissolves in water.
• All acids generate (aq) and all bases generate (aq).
• We can view the neutralisation reaction as follows – Acid + Base → Salt + Water
H X + M OH → MX + HOH
(aq) + (aq) →
What is involved when water is mixed with an acid or a base?

• Process of Mixing an acid or base with water is called dilution and this results in
decrease in the concentration of ions (/) per unit volume. And the acid or the base
is said to be diluted.
• The process of dissolving an acid or a base in water is a highly exothermic one.
• The acid must always be added slowly to water with constant stirring. If water is
Figure:-Warning sign
added to a concentrated acid, the heat generated may cause the mixture to displayed on containers
containing concentrated
splash out and cause burns. The glass container may also break.
acids and bases
 QUESTIONS

1. Why do HCl, HNO3, etc., show acidic characters in aqueous solutions while solutions of compounds like
alcohol and glucose do not show acidic character?
2. Why does an aqueous solution of an acid conduct electricity?
3. Why does dry HCl gas not change the colour of the dry litmus paper?
4. While diluting an acid, why is it recommended that the acid should be added to water and not water to the
acid?
5. How is the concentration of hydronium ions () affected when a solution of an acid is diluted?
6. How is the concentration of hydroxide ions () affected when excess base is dissolved in a solution of sodium
hydroxide?
 pH
• A scale for measuring hydrogen ion concentration in a solution is called pH
• The p in pH stands for ‘potenz’ in German, meaning power.
• On the pH scale we can measure pH from 0 (very acidic) to 14 (very alkaline).
• Higher the hydronium ion or hydrogen ion concentration, lower is the pH value.
• pH is the negative logarithm of hydrogen ion concentration , in mol/L
• For Neutral solution , pH =7.
• For Acidic solution, pH < 7.
• For Basic Solution, pH > 7
• As the pH value increases from 7 to 14, it represents an increase in ion concentration in the solution, that
is, increase in the strength of alkali.
 pH
• pH is determined by pH paper or Universal Indicator, or pH meter.

• The strength of acids and bases depends on the number of ions produced, respectively.
• Acids that give rise to more ions are said to be strong acids, and acids that give less ions are said to be weak acids.
Strong acids:- Hydrochloric acid (HCl), Sulphuric acid (H2SO4), Nitric acid (HNO3)

Weak acids:- Acetic acid (CH3COOH), carbonic acid (H2CO3)

Strong bases:- Sodium hydroxide (NaOH), Potassium hydroxide (KOH)
Weak bases:- Calcium hydroxide [Ca(OH)2], Magnesium hydroxide [Mg(OH)2], Ammonium hydroxide [NH4OH]
 Importance of pH in Everyday Life
o Our body works within pH range of 7.0 to 7.8.
o Acid rain makes the survival of aquatic life difficult. When pH of rain water is less than 5.6, it is called acid
rain.
o Plants require a specific pH range for their healthy growth.
o Antacids neutralize the excess acid produced in our stomach to get rid of acidity.
o Tooth decay starts when the pH of the mouth is lower than 5.5. Tooth enamel, made up of calcium phosphate is
the hardest substance in the body. It does not dissolve in water, but is corroded when the pH in the mouth is
below 5.5. Using toothpastes, which are generally basic, for cleaning the teeth can neutralize the excess acid
produced in the mouth by the bacteria and prevent tooth decay
o Animals and plants have self defence through chemical warfare, e.g. Bee-sting and Stinging hair of Nettle
leaves inject methanoic acid (Formic Acid) causing burning pain. A traditional remedy is rubbing the area with
the leaf of the dock plant.
 Some naturally occurring acids

QUESTIONS

1. You have two solutions, A and B. The pH of solution A is 6 and pH of solution B is 8. Which solution
has more hydrogen ion concentration? Which of this is acidic and which one is basic?
QUESTIONS

2. What effect does the concentration of (aq) ions have on the nature of the solution

3. Do basic solutions also have (aq) ions? If yes, then why are these basic?

4. Under what soil condition do you think a farmer would treat the soil of his fields with quick lime (calcium
oxide) or slaked lime (calcium hydroxide) or chalk (calcium carbonate)?
 SALTS
Preparation of Salts:-

 Acid + Metal  Salt + Hydrogen gas

 Metal carbonate/ Metal hydrogen carbonate + Acid → Salt + Carbon dioxide + Water

 Base + Acid → Salt + Water

 Metal oxide + Acid → Salt + Water

 Base + Metal → Salt + Hydrogen gas

 Non-metal oxide + Base → Salt + Water

 Family of Salts
Name of Salts Formula of the Salts Base from which salt Acid from which Salt is
is formed formed
Potassium sulphate Potassium hydroxide Sulphuric acid
sodium sulphate Sodium hydroxide Sulphuric acid
calcium sulphate Calcium hydroxide Sulphuric acid
magnesium sulphate Magnesium hydroxide Sulphuric acid
copper sulphate Copper Hydroxide Sulphuric acid
sodium chloride Sodium hydroxide Hydrochloric acid
Sodium nitrate Sodium hydroxide Nitric acid
sodium carbonate Sodium hydroxide Carbonic acid
ammonium chloride Ammonium hydroxide Hydrochloric acid

Salts having the same positive or negative radicals are said to belong to a family. E.g, (1) NaCl , Na 2SO4,

Na2CO3 belong to the family of sodium salts. (2) K2SO4, Na2SO4, CaSO4, MgSO4 belong to the family of
sulphate salts
 pH of Salts

o Salts of strong acid and a strong base are neutral, pH=7, e.g, NaCl (Made up of NaOH +

HCl), KNO3 (Made up of KOH + HNO3)

o Salts of a strong acid and weak base are acidic, pH < 7, e.g CuSO 4 (Made up of Cu(OH)2

+ H2SO4), NH4Cl ( Made up of NH4OH + HCl)

o Salts of strong base and weak acid are basic, pH > 7, e.g., Na 2CO3( Made up of NaOH +

H2CO3), CH3COONa ( Made up of CH3COOH + NaOH)

o Salts of weak acid and weak base may be acidic or basic or neutral depend on relative

strength of weak acid and weak base. (NH4)2CO3 is basic

 pH of Salts:- Complete the table

Name of Salts pH of the Salts Acid used Base used

sodium chloride =7 Hydrochloric acid Sodium hydrxide
Potassium nitrate
Aluminium chloride
Zinc sulphate
Copper sulphate
Sodium acetate
Sodium carbonate
Sodium hydrogencarbonate
Sodium nitrate
 Chemicals from Common Salt

• salt formed by the combination of hydrochloric acid and sodium hydroxide solution is called sodium
chloride. This is the salt that we use in food.
• It is an important raw material for various materials of daily use, such as sodium hydroxide, baking
soda, washing soda, bleaching powder and many more
Sodium hydroxide

• When electricity is passed through an aqueous solution of sodium chloride (called brine), it decomposes
to form sodium hydroxide.
• The process is called the chlor-alkali process because of the products formed– chlor for chlorine and
alkali for sodium hydroxide.

• Hydrogen gas is liberated at cathode & chlorine gas at anode.

Bleaching powder:-
• Chemical Formula:-
• Chemical Name:-Calcium oxychloride
• Preparation:-by the action of chlorine on dry slaked lime .

• Uses:-
• (i) for bleaching cotton and linen in the textile industry, for bleaching wood pulp in paper
factories and for bleaching washed clothes in laundry;
• (ii) as an oxidising agent in many chemical industries; and
• (iii) for disinfecting drinking water to make it free of germs.
 Baking soda:-
• Chemical formula:- Chemical Name:-Sodium hydrogencarbonate
• Preparation:-prepared by passing sodium chloride solution saturated with

• It is a mild non-corrosive base. On heating:-

• Uses:-(i) For making baking powder, which is a mixture of baking soda (sodium hydrogencarbonate) and tartaric
acid. When baking powder is heated or mixed in water, the following reaction takes place –

(From acid)
produced during the reaction causes bread or cake to rise making them soft and spongy. and tartaric acid
neutralize the sodium carbonate or sodium salt of acid obtained by heating baking soda otherwise cake become
bitter
(ii) Sodium hydrogencarbonate is also an ingredient in antacids. Being alkaline, it neutralises excess acid in the
stomach and provides relief from acidity.
(iii) It is also used in soda-acid fire extinguishers.
 Washing soda

• Chemical Formula:-
• Chemical Name:-Sodium carbonate decahydrate
• Preparation:-By the recrystallization of sodium carbonate
Na2CO3 + 10H2O→Na2CO3.10 H2O
Sodium carbonate is obtained by heating baking soda
2NaHCO3 → Na2CO3 + H2O +CO2
• Uses of washing soda
(i) Sodium carbonate (washing soda) is used in glass, soap and paper industries.
(ii) It is used in the manufacture of sodium compounds such as borax.
(iii) Sodium carbonate can be used as a cleaning agent for domestic purposes.
(iv) It is used for removing permanent hardness of water.
 Hard water :- water which does not give lather (Foam) with soap is called hard water. It is due to the presence
of soluble salts of calcium and magnesium.
 Hardness of water is of two types - (a) Temporary hardness (b) Permanent hardness.
 Temporary hardness of water is due to the presence of bicarbonates of calcium and magnesium. It is removed
by boiling.
 Permanent hardness is due the presence of soluble salt of calcium and magnesium other than bicarbonates.
 Soap:- sodium or potassium salt of higher fatty acids.
 Calcium and magnesium ions present in hard water react with soap and form insoluble scum therefore it does
not give lather with soap.
 Plaster of Paris (POP)
• Chemical Formula:- or
• Chemical Name:- Calcium sulphate hemihydrate
• Preparation:-by the controlled heating of gypsum at 373 K
.2H2O → CaSO4.½H2O + 1½H2O
• Plaster of Paris is a white powder and on mixing with water, it changes to gypsum once again giving a hard
solid mass.
CaSO4.½H2O + 1½H2O.2H2O
• Uses of POP:-
(a)for supporting fractured bones
(b) for making toys, materials for decoration
(c) for making surfaces smooth
Water of crystallization:-

Blue Colourless Blue

Water of crystallization is the fixed number of water molecules
present in one formula unit of a salt.
e.g, CuSO4.5H2O, Na2CO3.10H2O, CaSO4.2H2O
 QUESTIONS

1. What is the common name of the compound CaOCl 2?

2. Name the substance which on treatment with chlorine yields bleaching powder.

3. Name the sodium compound which is used for softening hard water.

4. What will happen if a solution of sodium hydrogncarbonate is heated? Give the equation of the

reaction involved.

5. Write an equation to show the reaction between Plaster of Paris and water