They can eat their way

The word ACID was originally applied to substances with a ‘sour’ taste.
through clothing,
S

dangerous to skin,attack
metals and stonework

The easiest way to detect whether a solution is acidic or not is to use an INDICATOR, substances that change colour if they are put into an acid
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or alkaline solution. We commonly use LITMUS and METHYL ORANGE.

H

UNIVERSAL INDICATOR
Litmus is purple in neutral solution is a mixture of indicator dyes
When added to an acidic solution, it turns red
Alkalis turn litmus in blue.

It gives us a spectrum ( range of colors )

Substances with the opposite chemical effect to
acids are needed to reverse the change.
n

ACID AND ALKALI SOLUTIONS

,

biochemist Søren Sørensen

All acids contain hydrogen, the solution of these acids contains ions
RULE Acid solutions have an excess of hydrogen ions, they contain more
H+ ions than H- ions, in fact the term pH is taken from the German
Acids have a pH less than ‘potenzH (hydrogen)’.
The more acidic a solution, the lower the p The hydrogen ions (H+) in acid solutions make litmus go red
Neutral substances, such as pure water, have a pH of The hydroxide ions (H-) in alkaline solutions make litmus go blue.
Alkalis have a pH greater than 7 The acidic oxides of sulfur,phosphorus and carbon are covalent
molecules when pure, but produce acids when dissolved in water
.

O X I D E S If a large volume of water is added to a small amount of acid or

t

Non-metals generally form ACIDIC OXIDES that dissolve i alkali, then the solution is DILUTE; using less water gives a more

water to form ACIDIC solutions CONCENTRATED solution.

d

Metals forms oxides that are solide. If they dissolve in water ACID REACTION IN EVERYDAY LIFE
.

these oxides give ALKALINE solutions. These metal oxides The PH of Soil (in plant) is PH4, soils in limestone or chalky
neutralize acids and are BASIC OXIDES. areas are alkaline. The soil PH is also affected by the use of
Water can be thought as a hydrogen oxide,neutral oxide fertilizers and the acidity of rainfall. If the soil is too acidic, it is
The oxides of non-metals are acidic oxides(except CO, i usually treated by ‘liming’( with calcium oxide and hydroxide
reacts and neutralize alkalis. Amphoteric hydroxide is a If the soil is too alkaline, it helps to dig in some peat
hydroxide or metal oxide that reacts with both an acid an To reduce emissions of sulfur dioxide, many modern factories
an alkali to give a salt and water and power stations now spray acidic waste gases with jets of
slaked lime in a ue-gas desulfuriser to neutralize them before

they leave the chimneys.

All metal oxides and hydroxides will neutralize acids, whether PROPERTIES AND USES OF ALKALIS AND BASES
d

they dissolve in water or not. Base is a substance that reacts with

an acid to form a salt and water only. A base will neutralize an aci
and in the process a salt is formed NEUTRALISATION neutralize acids to give a salt and water only
acid + base = salt + water are the oxides and hydroxides of metals
are mainly insoluble in water
Alkalis are bases that are soluble in water. They are generally are bases that dissolve in water,and:
used in the laboratory as aqueous solutions. Common alkalis feel soapy to the skin
sodium hydroxide solution, potassium hydroxide solution, calcium turn litmus blue
hydroxide solution, ammonia solution. give solutions with a PH greater than 7
Common acids: hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid, nitric acid, ethanoi give solutions that contain OH- ions
acid.
are compounds that are used to neutralize acid
CHARACTERISTIC REACTIONS OF ACIDS magnesium oxide and magnesium hydroxide
The three major chemical reactions of acids are with sodium carbonate and sodium hydrogencarbonate
a reactive meta calcium carbonate and magnesium carbonate
a base - a neutralisation reactio ACIDS AND ALKALIS IN CHEMICAL ANALYSIS
a metal carbonate All carbonates will react with acids to give off carbon dioxide. A piece of rock that we
they all produce salt think is limestone can be checked by dripping a few drops of vinegar on it. If it ' zzes',
then it could be limestone. A more usual test would be to add dilute hydrochloric acid
to the powdered substance. Any gas given off would be passed into limewater to see
SALT: a compound made from an acid when a metal take if it went cloudy. If the limewater does turn cloudy, the gas is carbon dioxide, and the
substance is a carbonate.
the place of the hydrogen in the acid
Metals that are quite reactive can be used to displace the hydrogen All salts are ionic compounds. They are made up of a positive metal ion, combined
with a negative non-metal ion. Thus, common salt, sodium chloride, is made up of

from an acid safely

sodium metal ions (Na* ions) and chloride non-metal ions (Cl- ions). In analysis it

would be useful to have tests for the metal ions in salts. Most metal hydroxides are

insoluble. By adding an alkali to a solution of the unknown salt we can begin to identify
For example: the salt.
Coloured hydroxide precipitates
Some of the hydroxide precipitates are coloured. A solution of a salt can be tested by
adding an alkali to it, and checking the colour of the precipitate:
The salt made depends on the acid:
Copper salts give a light blue precipitate of copper hydroxide
hydrochloric acid always gives a chlorid

Iron salts give a light green precipitate of iron hydroxide

nitric acid always gives a nitrate Iron salts give a red-brown precipitate of iron hydroxide
sulfuric acid always gives a sulfate White hydroxide precipitates
ethanoic acid always gives a ethanoate. Certain hydroxide precipitates are white. They are the hydroxides of calcium, zinc and
aluminium. The addition of sodium hydroxide to a solution of a salt of these metals
All carbonates give off carbon dioxide when they react with acids: produces a white precipitate in each case. For example: zinc sulfate + sodium
hydroxide → zinc hydroxide + sodium sulfate. When an excess of sodium hydroxide is
added, the zinc and aluminium hydroxide precipitates re-dissolve to give colourless
:

For example: solutions. The calcium hydroxide precipitate does not re-dissolve. To identify a zinc or
r

hydrochloric acid+calcium carbonate=calcium aluminium salt, the test needs to be repeated with ammonia solution.
chloride+water+carbon dioxide
Ammonium salts are important as fertilizers.They are salts containing ammonium ions,
NH, ions. These salts react with alkali solutions to produce ammonia gas, which can
SALTS be detected because it turns damp red litmus paper blue: ammonium nitrate + sodium
:

Salts are ionic compounds. Sodium chloride is essential for life = hydroxide sodium nitrate + water + ammonia This reaction occurs because ammonia
Biologically, it’s involved in muscle contraction, it enables the is a more volatile base than sodium hydroxide. Ammonia is therefore easily displaced
conduction of nerve impulses in the nervous system, it regulates from its salts by sodium hydroxide. The reaction can be used to test an unknown
osmosis, aids digestion in the stomach. substance for ammonium ions. It can also be used to prepare ammonia in the
laboratory.
CHOOSING A METHOD OF SALT PREPARATION PREPARING SOLUBLE SALTS
Some salts (xes. silver chloride) are insoluble in water, they are
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generally made by ionic precipitation.

:

PRECIPITATION: the sudden formation of a solid, either Stage 1: An excess of the solid is added to the acid and allowed to react. Using an
~ when two solutions are mixed, o excess of the solid makes sure that all the acid is used up. If it is not used up at this
~ when a gas is bubbled into a solution stage, the acid would become more concentrated when the water is evaporated later.
Stage 2: The excess solid is ltered out
For example
barium nitrate+sodium sulfate=barium solfate+sodium nitrate Stage 3: The ltrate is gently evaporated to concentrate the salt solution, this can be
done on a heated water bath or sand tray.
acid + alkali = salt + wate Stage 4: When crystals can be seen forming (crystallisation point), heating is
e

For example stopped and the solution is left to crystallise.

hydrochloric acid+sodium hydroxide = sodium chloride + water Stage 5: The concentrated solution is cooled to let the crystals form. The crystals are
ltered off and washed with a little distilled water. Then the crystals are dried carefully
between lter papers.
acid= a molecule or ion that is able to donate a proton to a bas
base= a molecule or ion that is able to accept a proton

This method involves the neutralisation of an acid with an alkali or a soluble

carbonate . Since both the reactants and the products are colourless, an indicator is
used to nd the neutralisation point or end-point (when all the acid has just been
neutralised).
Stage 1: The acid solution is poured into a burette. The burette is used to accurately
measure the volume of solution added. A known volume of alkali solution is placed in
a conical ask using a pipette. The pipette delivers a xed volume accurately. A few
drops of an indicator are added to the ask.

Stage 2: The acid solution is run into the ask from the burette until the indicator just
changes colour. Having found the end-point for the reaction, the volume of acid into
the ask is noted. The experiment is then repeated without using the indicator. The
same known volume of alkali is used in the ask.The same volume of acid as noted in
the rst part is then run into the ask. Alternatively, activated charcoal can be added to
remove the coloured indicator. The charcoal can then be ltered off.
Stage 3: The salt solution is evaporated and cooled to form crystals