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Properties Of Acids And Bases
Substances can be categorize a substance as an acid or a base according to the properties displayed.
Properties of Acids
- They have sour taste
- They give the following characteristic colors in indicators
- Acids are corrosive in Nature
The ability of acids to attack various substances like metals, metal oxides and hydroxides is referred to as their corrosive nature.
- They dissociate in water to produce hydrogen ions
Acids dissociate in water to produce hydrogen ions (H+) which are responsible for all their characteristic properties. These ions do not exist as H+ in the solution but combine with water molecules as shown below:
H+ + |
H2O → |
H3O+ |
The H3O+ ions are called hydronium ions. These ions are also represented as H+(aq).
On the basis of the extent of dissociation occurring in their aqueous solutions, acids are classified as strong and weak acids
- Acid reacts with metals to produce hydrogen gas.
During such reactions metal displaces hydrogen from acids and hydrogen gas is released. The metal combines with the remaining part of the acid and forms a compound called a salt, thus,
Acid + Metal → Salt + Hydrogen gas
For example, the reaction between zinc and dil. sulphuric acid can be written as:
Zn |
+ |
H2SO4 |
→ZnSO4 |
+ |
H2 |
- Acids react with Carbonates or Hydrogen carbonate to give carbon dioxide gas
The respective reactions are:
Na2CO3(s) + 2HCl(aq) → 2NaCl(aq) + H2O(l) + CO2(g)↑
NaHCO3(s) + HCl(aq)→ NaCl(aq) + H2O(l) + CO2 (g) ↑
On passing the evolved carbon dioxide gas through lime water, Ca(OH)2, the later turns milky due to the formation of white precipitate of calcium carbonate
Ca(OH)2(aq)+ CO2(g) →CaCO3(s) + H2O(l)
If excess of carbon dioxide gas is passed through lime water, the white precipitate of calcium carbonate disappears due to the formation of water soluble calcium hydrogen carbonate.
CaCO3(s) +H2O(l) + CO2(g) → Ca(HCO3)2(aq)
Thus, we can summarize that,
Metal carbonate + Acid → Salt + Water + Carbon dioxide
and
Metal hydrogen carbonate + Acid → Salt + Water + Carbon dioxide
- Acids react with metal oxides to produce salt and water
The reaction between copper oxide and dilute hydrochloric acid results in the formation of copper (II) chloride (cupric chloride) which is a salt of copper. This salt forms bluish green solution. The reaction is:
CuO(s) + 2HCl(aq) → CuCl2(aq) + H2O(l)
Many other metal oxides like magnesium oxide (MgO) and calcium oxide (CaO) or quick lime also react with acid in a similar way. For example,
CaO(s) + 2HCl(aq) → CaCl2(aq) + H2O(l)
So, we can summarize with a general reaction between metal oxides and acids as:
Metal oxide + Acid → Salt + Water
- Acids reacts with bases to give salt and water
when dilute acids is added to dilute basic solution, they two react with each other to give salt and water. The process is therefore called neutralization. It results in the formation of salt and water. The reaction betweenhydrochloric acid and sodium hydroxide forms sodium chloride and water.
HCl(aq)+ NaOH(aq) →NaCl(aq) + H2O(l)
Similar reactions occur with other acids and bases. For example ,sulphuric acid and potassium hydroxide react to form potassium sulphate and water.
H2SO4(aq) + 2KOH(aq) → K2SO4(aq) + 2H2O(l)
In general, the reaction between and acid and a base can be written as: Acid + Base → Salt + Water
Properties of Bases
The following are the characteristic properties of bases:
- Bases have a bitter taste and their solutions are soapy to touch.
- Bases are caustic nature
Strong bases like sodium hydroxide and potassium hydroxide are corrosive towards organic matter and break down the proteins of the skin and flesh to a pasty mass. This action is called caustic action and it is due to this property that sodium hydroxide is called ‘caustic soda’ and potassium hydroxide is called ‘caustic potash’. The term ‘caustic’ is not used for corrosive action of acids.
- Each indicator shows characteristic colour in presence of bases as given below
Indicator |
Colour in basic medium |
Litmus |
Blue |
Phenolphthalein |
Pink |
Methyl orange |
Yellow |
- Bases dissociates in water and conduct electricity
Aqueous solutions (solution in water) of bases conduct electricity which is due to the formation of ions. Like acids, bases also dissociate on dissolving in water. Bases produce hydroxyl ions (OH–) which are responsible for their characteristic properties.
The bases which are soluble in water and give OH– ions in their aqueous solution are called alkalis. All alkalis are bases but all bases are not alkalis. On the basis of the extent of dissociation occurring in their solution, bases are classified as strong and weak bases.
- Strong and Weak Bases
Bases are classified as strong and weak bases based on the extent of their dissociation in water
- Reaction of bases with metals
Like acids, bases also react with active metals liberating hydrogen gas. Such reactions can also be studied with the help of activity 8.2 given earlier. For example, sodium hydroxide reacts with zinc as shown below:
Zn(s) + 2NaOH(aq) →Na2ZnO2(aq) + H2(g) ↑
- Reaction of Bases with non-metal oxides
Bases react with oxides of non-metals like CO2, SO2, SO3, P2O5 etc. to form salt and water.
For example,
Ca(OH)2(aq) + CO2(g) → CaCO3(s) + H2O(l)
The reaction can be written in a general form as:
Base + Non-metal oxide→ Salt + Water
- Reaction of bases with acids
We have learnt the mutual reaction between acids and bases in previous section. Such reactions are called neutralization reactions and result in the formation of salt and water. The following are some more examples of neutralization reactions:
HCl(aq) + KOH(aq) → KCl(aq) + H2O(l)
H2SO4(aq) + 2NaOH(aq) → Na2SO4(aq) + 2H2O(l)
Strength and Concentration Of Acids And Bases
Some acids and bases are stronger than others eg
HI >HBr >HCl
NaOH >CaOH2>NH4OH
All acids liberates hydrogen gas .if equal volume of acids are used and if the amount of the hydrogen gas liberated is measured ,it shall be found that the volume of H2 liberated varies depending on the type of acid used.
These shows that the greater the reactivity of acids must be the result of the amount of H2 gas liberated. The strength of acid is therefore measured in terms of H+ concentration of the solution. The scale of acid strength ranges from very strong acid HI,HBr,Hcl, through an intermediate range down to weak acid eg acetic acid . The strength of bases is similarly assessed basing on the same reasoning for OH- .
Strong acids readily dissociate in water and gives or transfer all their H+ to water to form H3O+ ions Acids are therefore strong electrolytes because they completely dissociate to give ions . In contrast , weak acids do not readily dissociate or transfer its H+ ions. Similarly strong bases are those that completely dissociate to give all their OH- whereas weak bases do not completely dissociate
Concentrated and dilute acids and bases refer to the amount of water added to that particular acid or base .Concentration is measured in molarity. Concentrated acid is that which have less amount of water dissolved in large amount of acid while dilute acid have large amount of water is dissolved in less amount of base
SALTS
Salts are ionic compounds made of a cation other than H+ ion and an anion other than OH– ion.
Formation of salts
Salts are formed in many reactions involving acids and bases.
- By Neutralization of acids and bases
Salts are the product of a neutralization reaction( produced besides water).
For example, |
||||||||||
Base |
Acid |
Salt |
Water |
|||||||
NaOH |
+ |
HCl |
→ NaCl |
+ |
H2O |
|||||
KOH |
+ |
HNO3 |
→ KNO3 |
+ |
H2O |
|||||
In general, MOH |
+ |
HX |
→MX |
+ |
H2O |
In all the above cases we can see that the positively charged cation of the salt comes from the base. Therefore, it is called the ‘basic radical’. The negatively charged anion of the salt comes from the acid. It is therefore, called the ‘acid radical’ of the salt. For example, in the salt NaCl, the cation Na+ comes from the base NaOH and is its basic radical and the anion Cl– comes from the acid HCl and is its ‘acid radical’.
- By action of acids on metals
In a reaction between an acid and a metal, salt is produced along with hydrogen,
Zn |
+ H2SO4 |
→ ZnSO4+ |
H2 |
- By action of acids on metal carbonates and hydrogen carbonates
Salts are produced in reactions between acids and metal carbonates and hydrogen carbonates (bicarbonates) along with water and carbon dioxide.
CaCO3 |
+ |
2HCl |
→ CaCl2 |
+ |
H2O |
+ |
CO2 |
NaHCO3 |
+ |
HCl |
→ NaCl |
+ |
H2O |
+ |
CO2 |