Chemistry Unit 7

Acids and Bases

Acids
An acid is a substance that produces
positive hydrogen ions when placed in
water. (H+)
The strength of an acid depends on
how completely the substance ionizes.
Strong acids completely ionize in water.
Weak acids ionize only slightly.

Base
A base is a substance that produces
negative hydroxide ions when placed in
water. (OH-)
The strength of a base depends on how
completely the substance dissociates
into metal ions and hydroxide ions in
water. Strong bases dissociate
completely. Weak bases do not.

Which solution is Acidic? Basic? Neutral???

H+

OH-

H+ OHOH-

Acidic
Solution

H+

Neutral
Solution

Basic
Solution

Acids and Bases

Produce H+ ions in
water
Have a sour taste
Break down metals
Formula starts with
H
Poisonous and
corrosive to skin
pH less than 7

Produce OH- ions in

water
Have a bitter taste
and a slippery feel
Break down fats and
oils
Formula ends with
OH
Poisonous and
corrosive to skin
pH greater than 7

Acids and Bases

ACIDS
Examples: vinegar,
lemon juice, aspirin,
stomach acid,
battery acid, cola,
milk

BASES
Examples: soap,
shampoo, ammonia,
drain cleaner,
antacids

Neutral Substances
pH = 7
Safe to ingest and leave on skin
Concentrations of H+ ions and OH- ions
are equal
Examples: dH2O, salts, most cosmetics,
lotions, eye drops, etc.

Naming Acids

(This should be review!)

Every acid formula starts with H, a

cation. To name an acid, look at the
anion the hydrogen is bonded to.
H2 S
anion = chloride ion
H2SO3

anion = sulfite ion

H2SO4

anion = sulfate ion

Naming Acids
1) If the name of the anion ends in ide,
the acid name begins with the prefix
hydro- The stem of the anion is given
then the suffix -ic is added and is
followed by the word acid.
H2S
(anion sulfur) hydro + stem + ic +
acid
Hydrosulfuric Acid

Naming Acids
1) If the name of the anion ends in ite,

the acid name is the stem of the anion

with the suffix ous and is followed by
the word acid.
H2SO3

(anion Sulfite) stem + ous + acid

Sulfurous Acid

Naming Acids
1) If the name of the anion ends in ate,

the acid name is the stem of the anion

with the suffix ic and is followed by
the word acid.
H2SO4

(anion Sulfate) stem + ic + acid)

Sulfuric Acid

Naming Acids
Does the formula
contain Oxygen?
No

Yes

Hydro stemic acid

Anion end in __ ?
ate

stemic acid

ite

stemous acid

Writing Formulas for Acids

If the name starts with hydro
Hydrosulfuric Acid
Write the hydrogen ion with charge.
H+1
Write the anion with the proper charge.
S-2
Balance the charges using subscripts.
H2S

Writing Formulas for Acids

If the name contains the suffix ous
Sulfurous Acid
Write the hydrogen ion with charge.
H+1
Look up the polyatomic ion (sulfite) and
write it with the correct charge.
SO3-2
Balance the charges using subscripts.
H2SO3

Writing Formulas for Acids

If the name contains the suffix ic without
the prefix hydro
Sulfuric Acid
Write the hydrogen ion with charge.
H+1
Look up the polyatomic ion (sulfate) and
write it with the correct charge.
SO4-2
Balance the charges using subscripts.
H2SO4

Writing Formulas/Naming
Acids
Remember the following statements
I ate it and it was icky. -ate becomes -ic

Rite ous
-ite becomes -ous
(Righteous)

Naming Bases
Bases are named using the traditional
ionic naming system.
Metal name + polyatomic ion name
Examples:
Ca(OH)2 = calcium hydroxide
NaOH
= sodium hydroxide
Al(OH)3 = aluminum hydroxide

Writing Base Formulas

Base formulas are written using the
traditional ionic system.
Look up the metal ion. Write the
symbol with the proper charge.
Ca+2
Look up the polyatomic ion. With
bases, this will always be hydroxide,
OH-1.
Balance the charges using subscripts.
Ca(OH)2

Neutralization Reactions
When an acid is added to a base, the end
products are always salt and water. (neutral)
A salt is defined as the neutral end product of
an acid/base reaction.
ACID + BASE SALT + WATER
H2S + Ca(OH)2 CaS + H2O

What is wrong with this equation???

Balance the final equation!

H2S + Ca(OH)2 CaS + H2O
1
Ca 1
1
S
1
4
H
2
2
O
1
H2S + Ca(OH)2 CaS + 2 H2O

Neutralization Reactions
Try another example:
Acid + Base

H2SO4 + NaOH

1
1

H2SO4

3
1
+ 2 NaOH

Salt

Water

Na2SO4 + H2O

Na 2
SO4 1
H
O

2
1
Na2SO4 + 2 H2O

Take it one step further

Sulfurous acid and sodium hydroxide yields
sodium sulfite and water.
H2SO3 + NaOH Na2SO3 + H2O
1
1

H2SO3

Na 2
SO3 1

3
H
2
1
O
1
+ 2NaOH Na2SO3 + 2H2O

One Last Step

Hydrosulfuric acid and calcium hydroxide
yields what???
H2S + Ca(OH)2
1) One product will always be water.
H2S + Ca(OH)2 H2O +
1) The other product will be the + ion of
the base bonded with the ion of the
acid.
H2S + Ca(OH)2 2H2O + CaS

pH Scale
pH a number used to denote the
hydrogen ion concentration, or acididty,
of a solution
pH Scale
0
Acidic

Typically runs from 0 14

7
14
Neutral

Basic

pH Indicators
A chemical substance that changes color in
the presence of an acid and/or a base.
1) pH paper Dip the paper, match color to
scale on vial to determine numeric pH.
pH<7 = acid, pH>7 = base, pH = 7 neutral
2) Litmus Dip one red and one blue paper.
Red stays red, blue turns red Acid
Blue stays blue, red turns blue Base
Red stays red, blue stays blue Neutral

pH Indicators
1) Bromthymol Blue Add a few drops of
bromthymol blue to the substance.
If the blue color turns to yellow Acid
If the blue color stays blue Base
1) Phenolphthalein Add a few drops of
phenolphthalein to the substance.
If the clear liquid turns to pink Base
If the clear liquid remains clear Acid

Concentration
Strength of an acid or base is determined by the
amount of ionization. Concentration is determined
by the amount of water added to the substance.

Molarity (M)
The number of moles of solute dissolved in
each liter of solution.
Molarity = moles of solute
liters of solution

Example Problem #1
If 1.00 liter of sugar water contains
exactly 1.00 mole of sugar, what is its
molarity?
Molarity = 1.00 mol
1.00 L
Molarity = 1.00 M

Example Problem #2
If 1.00 liter of sugar water contains
exactly 2.00 mole of sugar, what is its
molarity?
Molarity = 2.00 mol
1.00 L
Molarity = 2.00 M or 2.00 mol/L

(Twice as concentrated)

Example Problem #3
What is the molarity when 0.75 mol is
dissolved in 2.50 L of solution?
Molarity = 0.75 mol = 0.30 mol/L or 0.30M
2.50 L

In Lab, grams are typically

used in place of moles.
If you wanted to make 2.00L of a 6M
HCl solution, how much HCl would you
need?
First, calculate the molar mass of the
acid.
H
1 x 1.00795 = 1.00795
Cl 1 x 35.453 = 35.453
36.46095 =
36.461

If you wanted to make 2.00L of a 6M HCl

solution, how much HCl would you need?
First, calculate the molar mass of the acid.
HCl contains 36.461 g/mol
It would take 36.461 g of HCl to make 1 liter
of a 1M HCl solution. How many grams
would it take to make 2L of a 1M solution?
2 x 36.461g = 72.922g

If you wanted to make 2.00L of a 6M HCl

solution, how much HCl would you need?
It takes 72.922g of HCl to make 2 liters
of a 1M solution. How much would it
take to make 2 liters of a 6M solution?
6 x 72.922g = 437.532 g

Try One More

Suppose you wanted to make 2 liters of a 0.5
M solution of HCl. How much HCl would you
need?
Each mole of HCl is equal to 36.461g
For a 0.5 M solution, you would need half
that much. 36.461 x 0.5 = 18.2305g.
However, you want to make 2 liters, so
double that amount. 18.2305 x 2 =
36.461g.