ACIDS, BASE AND

SALTS
TWO IMPORTANT KINDS OF COMPOUNDS IN CHEMISTRY ARE
ACIDS AND ALKALIS, THEY ARE COMMON IN OUR DAILY LIVES
The pH scale
• The pH of a substance that can dissolve in water is
a measure of how acidic or basic that substance is.
• The pH scale ranges from 0 to 14, acids have pH
values below 7 whiles alkalis have pH values
above 7.
• Neutral substances are neither acidic nor basic;
they have a pH value of 7.
• Strong acids have the lowest pH numbers, while
weak acids have pH values just below 7.
• Strong alkalis have the highest pH numbers, while
weak alkalis have pH values just above 7.
• The pH value represents the concentration of H+
ions.
Substance Description pH
Hydrochloric acid Strong acid 1
Milk Weak acid 6
Ammonia Weak base 11
Sodium hydroxide Strong base 14

• As the concentration of H+ ions increases, the pH

decreases and as the strength of the OH ions
-

increases, the pH increases.

Indicators
• They are used to measure the pH of a solution.
• An indicator is a substance that changes colour
according to the acidity and alkalinity of a solution
it is in.
• Litmus paper is an example of an indicator, it
becomes red in acidic solutions and blue in
alkaline solutions.
• Universal indicator is another important indicator
which gradually changes colour over a range of pH
values.
• Some indicators and their colour changes.
Indicator Colour in acid Colour in alkali
Litmus Red Blue
Methyl orange Red Yellow
Phenolphthalein Colourless Red
Universal Red Purple
ACIDS
• Some of the common acids are found in many
foods, e.g. ethanoic acid (vinegar), citric acid
(citrus fruits), lactic acid (milk and yoghurt),
tartaric acid (grapes), etc.
• Acids are compounds which produce hydrogen
ions, H+, when dissolved in water.
• All acids contain hydrogen, but not all hydrogen-
containing compounds are acids (e.g. NH3, CH4).
Properties of Acids
a. Acids have a sour taste
b. Acids can dissolve in water to form solutions
which conduct electricity.
c. Acids turn blue litmus paper red.
d. Reacts with metals
reactive metal + acid → salt + hydrogen gas e.g.
Mg(s) + H2SO4(aq) → MgSO4(aq) + H2(g)
Exceptions:
• Unreactive metals like copper and silver will not
react with dilute acids.
• When concentrated nitric acid is reacted with
metals, hydrogen gas is not produced. Instead, a
nitrate, water and nitrogen dioxide gas are
formed.
• Lead appears not to react with dilute HCl and
H2SO4. A layer of insoluble lead (II) chloride or
dilute acid from the initial reaction. It quickly
forms a coating around the metal, preventing
further reaction.
e. React with carbonates and
hydrogencarbonates.
carbonate + acid → salt + water + CO2
e.g.
CaCO3(s) + 2HCl (aq) → CaCl2 (aq) + H2O (l) + CO2 (g)
Note: Hydrogencarbonates (HCO ) also react the
3
-

same way.
Testing for CO2
Test: Bubble the gas through limewater (calcium
hydroxide).
Observation: CO2 reacts with limewater to form a
white precipitate.
f. React with metal oxides and hydroxides
base + acid → salt + water [Neutralisation]
e.g. ZnO(s) + H2SO4 (aq) → ZnSO4 (aq) + H2O (l)
Note: All bases, metal oxides or hydroxides, react
with acids in the same way.
Role of water in acidity
Acids are covalent compounds which show the
properties of acids only in aqueous state. This is
because acids dissociate in water to produce H+
ions which are responsible for acidic properties
Example of HCl
• Hydrogen chloride in organic solvent (e.g.
alcohol): Acids in the absence of water exists as
simple covalent molecules. No dissociation occurs-
remain as HCl molecule.
• Aqueous hydrogen chloride (hydrochloric acid):
HCl molecules are dissociated/ionised into H+ and
Cl - ions.
HCl (aq) → H (aq) + Cl (aq)
+ -

Qn: Explain why anhydrous citric acid does not

Acids only conduct electricity in aqueous state
because; free moving ions needed for conducting
electricity are present only in aqueous citric acid.
No dissociation can occur without water (in
anhydrous citric acid).
Note: Acids conduct electricity by ions; metals and
graphite conduct electricity by electrons.
Basicity of an Acid
Some acids form just one H+ when dissolved in
• The maximum number of H+ ions produced by a
molecule of an acid is called the basicity of the
acid
Acid Reaction with Water Basicity
Hydrochloric HCl (aq) → H+(aq) + Cl - (aq) monobasic
Nitric HNO3(aq) →H+(aq) + NO3 -(aq) monobasic
Sulphuric H2SO4(aq)→2H+(aq)+ SO42-(aq) dibasic
Strong and Weak Acids
• A strong acid is one that completely ionizes in
water
e.g. HCl (aq) → H+(aq) + Cl - (aq)
• A weak acid is one that partially ionizes in water
e.g. CH3COOH (aq) H+(aq) + CH3COO - (aq)
• Strong acids react more vigorously than weak
acids.
Bases and Alkalis
Bases are oxides or hydroxides of metals, e.g. CuO
and NaOH are bases.
Some bases such as CuO are insoluble while others
such as NaOH are soluble, hence a soluble base is
called an alkali.
Therefore, an alkali is a substance that produces
OH- ions in water.
Properties of Alkalis
a.Alkalis feel slippery, i.e. dilute solutions of alkalis
have a ‘slippery’ feel.
b. Alkalis are hazardous – concentrated solutions of
NaOH and KOH are corrosive and will burn the skin,
i.e. they are called caustic alkalis.
c. Alkalis turn red litmus blue
d. Alkalis react with acids
base + acid → salt + water
through a neutralisation reaction, e.g.
NaOH (aq) + HCl (aq) → NaCl (aq) + H2O (l)
Note:
• If more than a salt and water is formed, it is not a
neutralisation reaction. No gases are produced.
• Neutralisation reactions are exothermic.
• If equal amounts of HCl and NaOH are added, the
resulting mixture is pH 7. Should HCl be in excess,
the resulting mixture is pH 1.
e. Alkalis except ammonia (NH3) react with
ammonium compounds releasing ammonia gas.
ammonium salt + base → salt + ammonia gas + H2O
e.g.
2NH4Cl (s)+Ca(OH)2 (aq) → CaCl2 (aq) + 2NH3 (g) + 2H2O(l)
Testing for NH3
Test: Place a moist red litmus paper at the mouth of
the test tube.
Observation: The moist red litmus paper turns blue.
CuSO4 (aq) contains Cu ions, when a few drops of
2+

NaOH(aq) are added, a blue insoluble solid of

Cu(OH)2 forms.

2NaOH (aq) + CuSO4 (aq) → Cu(OH)2 (s) + Na2SO4 (aq)

The solid that is formed in this reaction is called a

precipitate and the reaction is called a precipitation
reaction.
Strong and Weak Alkalis
• When strong alkalis are added to water they form
OH- ions in water, i.e. they completely ionize.
e.g. NaOH (aq) → Na+(aq) + OH- (aq)
• A weak alkali is one that partially ionizes in water.
NH3 is the most common example of a weak alkali,
i.e. only a small fraction of NH3 molecules react
with water when it dissolves.
e.g. NH + H O NH + + OH-
Neutralization
• The reaction between an acid and an alkali (or a
base) to form a salt and water only.
• Neutralization produces a salt and water, i.e.
when an acid reacts with an alkali, H+ ions from
the acid and OH- ions from the alkali combine
together to form water
e.g. H+(aq) + OH- (aq) → H2O (l)
• In general, acid + base → salt + water
Examples
CuO(s) + H2SO4 (aq) → CuSO4 (aq) + H2O (l)
Cu(OH)2 (aq) + H2SO4 (aq) → CuSO4 (aq) + 2H2O (l)
MgO(s) + 2HCl (aq) → MgCl2 (aq) + H2O (l)
Assignment
1. Write a balanced equation for each of the
following reactions. Name the salt formed in each
case.
b. Potassium hydroxide + nitric acid
c. Magnesium oxide + phosphoric acid
2. Calcium carbonatewill react with acids.
a. Write the chemical equation for the reaction
between solid Calcium carbonate and
hydrochloric acid.
b. Is this a neutralization reaction? Explain.
Classification of Oxides
Oxides are classified into four types, i.e. Acidic,
basic, amphoteric and neutral.
a. Acidic Oxides – are oxides of non-metals.
They are called acidic oxides because they react
with water to produce acids, e.g.
SO2 (g) + H2O (l) → H2SO3 (aq)
CO2 (g) + H2O (l) → H2CO3 (aq)
water, e.g.
CO2 (g) + 2NaOH (aq) → Na2CO3 (aq) + H2O (l)
Sodium carbonate is formed when carbon dioxide
is bubbled into a dilute solution of sodium
hydroxide.
b. Basic Oxides – are oxides of metals, e.g. Copper
(II) oxide (CuO), magnesium oxide (MgO), etc.
The oxides react with acids to form salts and water,
e.g.
c. Amphoteric Oxides – some metallic oxides
behave as acidic oxides or as basic oxides, e.g.
Aluminium oxide (Al2O3), lead (II) oxide (PbO) and
zinc oxide (ZnO).
Al2O3 (s) + 6HCl (aq) → 2AlCl3 (aq) + 3H2O (l)
Al2O3 (s) + 2NaOH (aq) + 3H2O (l) → 2NaAl(OH)4 (aq)
d. Neutral Oxides – do not react with either acids or
bases, thus they do not form salts, e.g. H2O, carbon
monoxide (CO), nitrogen monoxide (NO).
Salts
A salt is produced when an acid reacts with a base
(or alkali).
It consists of two parts, i.e. One part comes from
the base and the other part from the acid.
H+ ions of the acid are replaced by the metal from
the base.
e.g. Sodium chloride produced from sodium
hydroxide and hydrochloric acid.
 Base part

NaOH (aq) + HCl (aq) → NaCl (aq) + H2O (l)

Acid part

Na comes from the

+
NaCl Cl comes from the
–

Base, NaOH acid, HCl

Examples of some salts from different acids
Acid Salts
Hydrochloric acid HCl Sodium chloride NaCl
Copper (II) chloride CuCl2
Ammonium chloride
NH4Cl
Sulphuric acid H2SO4 Sodium sulphate Na2SO4
Copper (II) sulphate CuSO4
Nitric acid HNO3 Sodium nitrate NaNO3
Copper (II) nitrate Cu(NO3)2
Potassium nitrate KNO3
Ammonium nitrate NH4NO3
Sulphurous acid H2SO3 Sodium sulphite NaSO3
Preparing Salts
Method of preparation of a salt depends on the
reagents being reacted and on solubility of the salt
in water.
The methods of salt preparation include but are not
limited to neutralization, precipitation,
displacement.
a. Precipitation – a precipitate is formed whe two
solutions, each containing an ion of an insoluble
salts are mixed.
The ions come together when the solutions are
mixed to form a solid precipitate, e.g.
Na2CO3 (aq) + CuSO4 (aq) → CuCO3 (s) + Na2SO4 (aq)
Na2SO4 (aq) + BaCl2 (aq) → BaSO4 (s) + NaCl (aq)
b. Displacement - new salts can be formed when
another ion or element displaces another from its
salt, e.g.
Zn + CuSO → Cu + ZnSO
Soluble and Insoluble salts
Soluble Salts Insoluble Salts
Carbonates Sodium, All others
potassium,
ammonium
Chlorides All except Lead, silver
Nitrates All nitrate
Sulphates All except Lead, barium,
calcium