ACIDS & BASES - Lewis base is a species which donates an electron

Some Properties of Acids & Bases pair to form a coordinate bond

Acid Base
sour taste bitter taste
change blue litmus change red litmus paper
paper to red to blue
corrosive & reactive to
certain metals (Zn, Fe, they feel slippery acid base
etc) to produce H2 gas
reactive with oils &  NH3 is a base since it is an electron pair donor,
greases while BF3 is an acid since it is an electron pair
acceptor (recall coordinate covalent bonding &
Lewis structures)
Theories on Acids & Bases
Exercises on Identifying Acids & Bases:
1. Arrhenius Theory 1. Classify each of the following species as Bronsted
(Svante Arrhenius) acid or base, or both:
- all bases contain OH- while all acids contain a. HCN
H when ionized in water.
+ b. NO3-
- applicable only for aqueous solutions c. H3O+
- cannot account for the acidity/basicity of d. NH2-
other compounds like NH3, a weak base
ex: 2. Identify the conjugate acid/base pairs in each of the
HCl(g) + H2O(l) H+(aq) + Cl-(aq) (acid) reactions:
NaOH(s) + H2O(l)  Na+(aq) + OH- (base) a. CN- + H2O  HCN + OH-
b. HClO + CH3NH2  CH3NH3+ + ClO-
2. Bronsted-Lowry Theory c. H2PO4- + NH3  HPO42- + NH4+
(Johannes Niccolaus Bronsted & Thomas d. HCO3- + HCO3-  H2CO3 + CO32-
Martin Lowry)
- acid is a proton donor 3. Write the formula of the conjugate bases of the
- base is a proton acceptor following acids:
ex: a. HNO2
(1) NH3 + H2O  NH4+ + OH- b. H2SO4
base acid c. HCOOH
 H2O acts as an acid since it donates a proton, (H +) to d. HCN
a proton acceptor (NH3) to become NH4+.
4. Write the formula of the conjugate acids of the
(2) NH4+ + OH-  NH3 + H2O following bases:
acid base a. PO43-
 NH4+acts as an acid since it donates a proton, (H +) to b. HPO42-
a proton acceptor (OH-) to become NH3. c. CO32-
d. HS-
-consider reactions (1) & (2) as reversible reactions:
NH3 + H2O  NH4+ + OH- 5. Which of the following species are acids & bases in
base(1) acid(2) acid(1) base(2) the following reactions:
 NH3/NH4+ & H2O/OH- are conjugate pairs a. BF3 + F-  BF4-
 NH4+ is the conjugate acid of NH3 b. OH-(aq) + CO2(aq)  HCO3-(aq)
OH- is the conjugate base of H2O c. BF3 + NH3  F3BNH3

d. Al(OH)3 + OH-  [Al(OH)4]-
3. Lewis Theory
(Gilbert Lewis)
- Lewis acid is a species which accepts an electron
pair to form a coordinate bond
Acids & Bases Mike Filomeno
Gen Chem 213 Page 1 of 3
Acid-Base Properties of Water & the Ion Product
Constant Classification of Acids & Bases:
1. According to Strength
Water A. Strong Acids

can act as either a base or an acid (amphiprotic) - are strong electrolytes which are assumed

it undergoes autoionization/autoprotolysis into to completely ionize in water & forms H 3O+
hydronium ion and hydroxide ion ion
H2O + H2O  H3O+ + OH- B. Weak Acids
- are weak electrolytes and ionizes only to a
acid 1 base 2 acid 2 base 1
 limited extent to form H3O+ ion
the conjugate acid-base pairs are (1) H 2O (acid) and OH-
C. Strong Bases
(base) and (2) H3O+ (acid) and H2O (base).
 - are strong electrolytes which are assumed
Kc = [H3O+] [OH-]

to completely ionize in water & forms OH- ion
25C in pure water, [H3O+] = [OH-] = 1.0 x 10-7
at 25 D. Weak Bases

the equilibrium constant for the self-ionization of water is - are weak electrolytes and ionizes only to a
called the ion-product constant, Kw at 25 25C. limited extent to form OH- ion

Kw = [H3O+] [OH-] = 1.0 x 10-14 (this applies to all The Common Strong Acids &
aqueous solutions, not just for pure water) Strong Bases
2. Acids Bases Accor
Exercises: HCl LiOH ding
1. The concentration of OH- ions in a certain household HBr NaOH to the
ammonia cleaning solution is 0.0025 M. Determine HI KOH
the concentration of H+ ions.
HClO4 RbOH
2. Calculate the concentration of OH- ions in a HCl
HNO3 CsOH
solution whose hydrogen ion concentration is 1.3 M.
H2SO4 Mg(OH)2
Ca(OH)2
pH and pOH Sr(OH)2
Ba(OH)2
pH number of Replaceable H+
 potential of hydrogen ion, proposed by Danish Biochemist A. Monoprotic Acid
Soren Sorensen - are acids that when ionized in water yields
 defined as the negative of the logarithm of [H3O+] only one hydrogen ion
pH = -log[H3O+] ex:
HNO3(aq)  H+(aq) + NO3-(aq)
pOH HBr(aq)  H+(aq) + Br-(aq)
 defined as the negative of the logarithm of [OH-]
pOH = -log[OH-] B. Polyprotic Acids
- are acids that when ionized in water yields
Acidic solutions : [H3O+] > 1.0 x 10-7 M, pH < 7.00 more than one hydrogen ion in a series of
Basic solutions : [H3O+] < 1.0 x 10-7 M, pH > 7.00 steps (diprotic- two H+; triprotic- three H+)
Neutral solutions : [H3O+] = 1.0 x 10-7 M, pH = 7.00 ex:
H3PO4(aq)  H+(aq) + H2PO4-(aq)
pKw = - log 1.0 x 10-14 = 14.00 H2PO4-(aq)  H+(aq) + HPO42-(aq)
HPO42-(aq)  H+(aq) + PO43-(aq)
pKw = pH + pOH = 14.00

Exercises: Acid-Base Equilibria

1. Nitric acid is used in the production of fertilizer, dyes,  Acid base equilibria deals quantitatively with acid and
drugs & explosives. Calculate the pH of a HNO 3 base ionization in water.
solution having a hydrogen ion concentration of
0.760 M. Ionization of Acids & Bases
2. The OH- ion concentration of a blood sample is 2.5 x
10-7 M. What is the pH of the blood? consider the ionization of an acid,
3. The pH of a solution of HCl in water is found to be HA(aq) + H2O  H3O+ + A-(aq)
2.50. What volume of water would you add to 1.00 L or
of this solution to raise the pH to 3.10. HA(aq)  H+(aq) + A-(aq)
4. What must be the weight in grams of NaOH needed
to prepare 750 mL solution with a pH of 11? Ka = [H+][A-]

Acids & Bases Mike Filomeno

Gen Chem 213 Page 2 of 3
 [HA]
consider the ionization of a base,
B(aq) + H2O  BH+ + OH-(aq) Percent Ionization
 gives the proportion of ionized molecules on a
Kb = [BH+][OH-] percentage basis.
[B]  determines the strength of an acid or base
 the greater the percent ionization, the stronger the
 Ka and Kb are called the acid ionization constant acid or base.
and base ionization constant respectively.
 Ka and Kb tells us the degree of dissociation of the % ionization = equilibrium con’c of H+/OH- x 100
acid or base in water. It also tells us the relative initial con’c of acid or base
strength of the acid or base.
 the higher the value of K a (or Kb), the greater its Exercises:
ionization in water, the higher the acidity (or basicity) 1. What is the percent ionization of 0.010 M acetic acid
of the solution. HC2H3O2? Ka = 1.8 x 10-5
2. A 0.0284 M aqueous solution of lactic acid, a
Acid-Base Equilibria Calculations substance that accumulates in the blood and muscles
1. Butyric Acid, HC4H7O2, is used to make compounds during physical activity, is found to be 6.7% ionized.
employed in artificial flavorings and syrups. A 0.250 Determine the value of Ka for lactic acid.
M aqueous solution of butyric acid is found to have a HC3H5O3 + H2O  H3O+ + C3H5O3-
pH of 2.72. Determine Ka for butyric acid? 3. What is the percent ionization of trichloroacetic acid
2. Hypochlorous acid, HOCl, is used in water treatment in 0.035 M HC2Cl3O2 solution?
and as disinfectant in swimming pools. A 0.150 M HC2Cl3O2 + H2O  H3O+ + C2Cl3O2- pKa = 0.52
solution of HOCl has a pH of 4.18. Determine K a for
hypochlorous acid.
3. The much-abused drug cocaine is an alkaloid.
Alkaloids are noted for their bitter taste, which
indicates that they are bases. Cocaine, C 17H21O4N, is
soluble in water to the extent of 0.17g/100 mL
solution, and a saturated solution has a pH of 10.08.
What is the Kb for cocaine?
C17H21O4N + H2O  C17H21O4NH+ + OH-
4. Acetylsalicylic acid, HC9H7O4, is the active component
in aspirin. It causes the stomach upset that some
people get when taking aspirin. Two extra-strength
aspirin tablets, each containing 500 mg of
acetylsalicylic acid, are dissolved in 325 mL of water.
What is the pH of this solution?
HC9H7O4 + H2O  H3O+ + C9H7O4-
Ka = 3.3 x 10-4
5. What is the pH of 0.00250 M HNO 2(aq) whose pKa is
equal to 3.14?
6. Piperidine, C5H11N, is a base found in small amounts
in black pepper. What is the pH of 3.15 mL of a
water solution containing 114 mg piperidine?
C5H11N + H2O  C5H11NH+ + OH-
Kb = 1.6 x 10-3
7. For a 3.0 M H3PO4 solution, calculate: (a) [H 3O+] (b)
[H2PO4-] (c) [HPO42-] (d) [PO43-]
Ka1 = 7.1 x 10-3
Ka2 = 6.3 x 10-8
Ka3 = 4.2 x 10-13
8. Malonic acid, HOOCCH2COOH, is a diprotic acid used
in the manufacture of barbiturates.
HOOCCH2COOH + H2O  H3O+ + HOOCCH2COO-
HOOCCH2COO- + H2O  H3O+ + -OOCCH2COO-
Ka1 = 1.4 x 10-3
Ka2 = 2.0 x 10-6

Acids & Bases Mike Filomeno

Gen Chem 213 Page 3 of 3