More about acids and bases

Flash notes: Strong and weak acids and alkalis

Hopefully you can remember that when all acids are dissolved in water they will
release H+ ions. (A hydrogen atom that has lost an electron) We call this a
hydrated ion; H+ (aq).
An alkali is a base that when dissolves releases OH- ions these are called
hydroxide ions. When an acid and an alkali react together a neutralisation
reaction occurs. This can be represented as an equation
H+(aq) + OH-(aq)  H2O(l)
This means that acids are called proton donors and alkalis are proton
acceptors.
Acids and bases are classified as either strong or weak and this is linked to how
much they ionise in water (how many H+ or OH- ions they give out). Strong acids
and bases are 100% ionised and weak acids and bases are only partially ionised.

Use the internet or your text book to make sure you know examples of strong
and weak acids and alkalis.
The strength of an acid or an alkali can be measured by the concentration of
hydrogen ions in it. The more hydrogen ions it contains, the more concentrated it
is. For convenience, this concentration is turned into a number called the pH of
the acid (standing for 'hydrogen potential').
As the pH of a liquid goes down, it becomes more acidic (less alkaline).
As the pH of a liquid goes up, it becomes more alkaline (less acidic).
The pH scale goes from 0 (strongly acidic) to 14 (strongly alkaline) with pure
water (neutral - neither acidic nor alkaline) at 7 in the middle.
The difference between strong and weak acids and bases can be seen in how
they react, strong acids and alkalis will react much more vigorously than their
weak counterparts.

Flash notes: Titrations

Titrations are used to make soluble salts or to calculate concentration of

unknown acids or alkalis

In a titration an acid can be added drop by drop to an alkaline solution by using a

piece of equipment called a burette.
The pH of the alkaline solution will decrease as more acid is added, it is
important to add the acid carefully.
When the pH goes down to 7, the solution will be neutral. This is identified by
using an indicator
if more acid is added, the pH will continue to go down and the solution becomes
acidic.

The point where the solution becomes neutral (called the end point) is found
using a specific indicator.
Strong acid + strong alkali = any indicator

Weak acid + strong alkali = phenolphthalein

Strong acid + weak alkali = methyl orange

Flash notes: titration calculations

Make sure you have practised these especially some exam questions; remember

To calculate the concentration of a solution you will need to

• Calculate the mass in grams for the solute in 1ml of solution

• Scale this up to 1000ml
• Convert this to moles

To calculate the mass of solute in a certain volume of solution

• Calculate the mass in grams for the solute in 1 litre of solution

• Calculate the mass in grams for the solute in 1ml of solution
• Calculate the mass in grams for the given volume of solution

Flash notes: developing ideas about acids and bases

Acids have been around for a long time. Arabic chemists made sulphuric, nitric
and hydrochloric acids nearly 1000 years ago. However, it took scientists a long
time to work out what acids actually are.
Early ideas
Some of the first ideas were very wrong. For example, Robert Boyle suggested
in 1675 that acids contain special particles that squeeze into spaces like tiny
wedges and break things apart.
In 1777, Antoine Lavoisier suggested that all acids contain oxygen. In fact, he
gave oxygen its name which means “acid-maker”. We now that many acids do
not contain oxygen!
In 1854, Auguste Laurent showed that all acids contain hydrogen. This is true,
much there is much more to how acids work.
Arrhenius
In 1887, the Swedish chemist Svante Arrhenius proposed that acids were
substances that contain hydrogen ions. The ions came from molecules splitting
or dissociating in water to produce hydrogen ions. However, this idea that
molecules was not generally accepted because people did not think that
molecules could be split. Also, Arrhenius was still a student when he put forward
these ideas in his PhD thesis which made it difficult for his ideas to be taken
seriously. Indeed, the university was reluctant to give him his PhD, and only just
passed him with the lowest grade possible.
As knowledge of atomic structure developed, chemists realised that the
hydrogen ion was in fact just a proton, and that such a small ion was unlikely to
exist on its own in water. This put further doubt on Arrhenius’s theory.
Bronsted and Lowry
In 1923, working independently, the Danish chemist Johannes Bronsted and the
British chemist Thomas Lowry stated that acids were proton donors and bases
were proton acceptors. They realised that the H+ ion in water is bonded to water
molecules, forming H3O+, although this is usually written as H+(aq).
By 1923, the structure of the atom and the existence of protons and electrons
were well established and accepted by virtually all scientists. The fact that an H+
ion is the same thing as a proton was also recognised. This greater knowledge
meant that the ideas of Lowry and Bronsted were quickly accepted. This work
also led to Arrhenius’s ideas becoming accepted, although Lowry and Bronsted
have developed them further.