INTRODUCTION - ACIDS, BASES AND SALTS

In this chapter we will study how substances are

classified on the basis of their chemical properties into
acids, bases and salts, their general properties, their
definitions in terms of furnishing H+ and OH- ions,
concept of pH, importance of pH in everyday life and
preparation and uses of some salt.
CLASSIFICATION OF SUBSTANCES INTO ACIDS, BASES, SALTS

ACIDS
Acids are sour in taste, corrosive in nature, good conductor of
electricity and change blue litmus to red. Examples
BASES
Bases are bitter in taste ,good conductor of electricity and
change red litmus to blue. Examples
SALTS
Salts are formed by the reaction of acids and bases ,consisting
of two parts, cation (positive ion) and anion (negative ion).
They are mostly solids, Salt solution can conduct electricity,
and they have high melting and boiling points. . Examples
TESTS TO DISTINGUISH BETWEEN ACIDS AND BASE
An indicator is a substance which shows different colours (odour) in acidic or basic medium.

SYNTHETIC COLOUR IN COLOUR IN BASIC

INDICATORS ACIDIC SOLUTION
SOLUTION

METHYL ORANGE
(ORANGE)

PHENOLPHTHALE
IN (COLOURLESS)
TESTS TO DISTINGUISH BETWEEN ACIDS AND BASE
NATURAL COLOUR IN ACIDIC COLOUR IN BASIC
INDICATORS SOLUTION SOLUTION
LITMUS (PURPLE
COLOURED)
TURMERIC (YELLOW
ORANGE)
RED CABBAGE (RED)

1. Olfactory indicators- Substances whose smell disappears in basic solutions.

OLFACTORY SMELL IN ACIDIC SMELL IN BASIC
INDICATORS SOLUTION SOLUTION

ONION
CLOVE OIL

VANILLA ESSENCE
GENERAL CHARACTERISTIC PROPERTIES OF ACIDS
Acids are sour in taste and change blue litmus to red. Eg- citric acid and
hydrochloric acid etc.

Chemical Properties of Acids

Reactions with metals
Acids react with active metals like zinc , magnesium etc with the
evolution of hydrogen gas.

REACTION
The metal in the above reactions displaces hydrogen from the acids to form
the hydrogen gas. The metal combine with the remaining part of the acid to
forms a compound called salt such as ZnCl2 , Zn SO4

In general this reaction can be represented as

Acid + Metal  Salt + Hydrogen

However , such reactions are not possible with all metals and all metals
do not react with the same acid with the same vigor.
Experiment to illustrate the reaction of acids with active metals
1. Set the Apparatus as shown in the figure.
2. Take about 5 ml of dilute sulphuric acid in a test tube
add a few pieces of Zinc granules to it.
3. A brisk reaction takes place at the surface of zinc
granules.
4. Pass the gas is evolved through the soap solution.
5. The soap Bubbles filled with the gas rise up.

6. Take a burning candle near a gas filled bubble.

7. The bubble bust and the gas present in it
catches fire with a Pop sound this shows the
gas is hydrogen.
Reactions with metal Carbonates and metal Bicarbonates
Acids react with metal carbonates and bicarbonates to give
corresponding salts , water and carbon di oxide. For example)

REACTION

In general this reaction can be represented as

Metal carbonate or hydrogen carbonate

+ Acid  salts + CO2 + H2O
Experiment to illustrate the reaction of acids with active metals
carbonates and metal hydrogen carbonates
1. Take two test tubes label them A and B
2. Take about 0.5 grams of sodium carbonate in test A and about 0.5 grams of
sodium hydrogen carbonate in test B
3. Add about 2 ml of dilute HCl to both the test tubes
4. Allow the gas evolved to pass through lime water taken in a test tube as
shown in figure
5. The lime water turns milky showing that the gas evolved is carbon dioxide the
following reactions take place.
Na2CO3 (s) + 2HCl (aq)  2NaCl (l) + H2O (l) +
CO2(g)
Sodium carbonate hydrochloric acid sodium chloride
water carbon di oxide
Ca(OH)2 (aq) + CO2(g)  CaCO3 (s) + H2O(l)
Calcium hydroxide carbon di oxide calcium carbonate
water

On passing excess of CO2, milkiness disappears and the solution becomes

clear due to the formation of soluble calcium bicarbonate as follows.
CaCO3 (s) + H2O(l) + CO2 (g)  Ca(HCO3)2(aq)
Calcium carbonate water carbon di oxide
calcium hydrogen carbonate
Reactions of acids with bases
When acid reacts with a base , it forms salt and water. It is a neutralization
reaction, because base is neutralized by acid and vice versa.

REACTION

In general this reaction can be represented as

Acid + Base Salt + water

Experiment to illustrate the reaction of acids with base
1. Take about 2 ml of NaOH solution in a conical flask and
add to drops of phenolphthalein
2. The solution will turn pink. Add dilute HCl solution to the
above solutions drop by drop from the burette till the
pink colour in the solution disappear
3. At this point the sodium hydroxide solution reacted with
hydrochloric acid. This is the neutralization because
the acid react with the base to form salt and water.
4. Now add a few drops of NaOH to the above mixture.
The solution will turn pink.
Reaction with metallic oxide
Metallic oxides like zinc oxide , copper oxide, calcium oxide
etc. react with Acids to give salts and water

REACTION

In general this reaction can be represented as

metal oxide + Acid  salt + water

Metallic oxides reacts with acids to form salts and water like
neutralization reaction of acid with base, metallic oxides are
said to be basic oxides.
Experiment to illustrate the reaction of acids with metallic oxide

1 Take a small amount of copper oxide in a beaker and add

dilute hydrochloric acid slowly while stirring till whole of black
copper oxide dissolves and a blushes green solution is
obtained. This is due to the formation of copper chloride.
Conduction of electricity
The solutions of acids in water
conduct electricity.
Experiment to illustrate conduction of
electricity
1. Set the Apparatus as shown in figure.
2. Add dilute sulphuric acid into the beaker so that
nails are completely immersed as shown in
figure switch on the battery.
3. The bulb start glowing repeat the experiment
with dilute hydrochloric acid, nitric acid or acetic
acid the bulb is found to glow in each case.
4. Glowing of current indicates that there is a flow
of electric current through the solution. The
electric current is carried through the solutions
by ions.
Experiment to show that dry HCl gas is not acidic but it becomes
acidic in presence of water
1. Take about 1 gram solid NaCl in a clean and dry
test tube and set up the apparatus as shown in
figure
2. Add some concentrated sulphuric acid to the test
tube the following reaction takes place producing
HCl gas
Reaction
1. Bring a dry blue Litmus Paper on the mouth of the
test mouth. The Litmus Paper does not turn red
2. Now, bring a wet blue Litmus on the mouth of the
test tube it turns red.
3. Moist Litmus paper has water in which HCl gas
dissolves and dissociates into ions that is hydrogen
ions and chloride ions. Thus behave like acids.
Reaction
What do all acids have in common?
(Definition of acids in terms of furnishing of H+ ions)
Acids when dissolve in water they separates into H+ cations and
corresponding anions. The separation of H+(aq) ions from acid
cannot occur in the absence of water. These H+ (aq) ions are
responsible for common characteristic of acids.

Representation of H+ ions
These H+ ions do not exist as such in the solutions. They
combine with water molecules and exist as hydronium ions.

As each H+ ion can combine with a number of water

molecules , in the solution , we represent as H+ (aq)
Handling acidic food stuff in the household
Curd and sour substances should not be kept in copper
and brass vessels. Acids present in these substances
react with copper or brass of vessels to form poisonous
salts.

Most of the acids are corrosive in nature. They produces

severe burns on the skin and can eat up materials like
cotton, wools and metal etc. So they are never stored in
metal containers.
GENERAL CHARACTERISTIC PROPERTIES OF BASES
Bases are bitter in taste and change red litmus to blue. Examples

Alkali
Alkali are the bases that dissolve in water. They are soapy in
touch, bitter and corrosive.

Chemical properties of bases

Reaction with metals

Some bases like sodium hydroxide and potassium hydroxide
react with active metals zinc and aluminum to liberate hydrogen
gas along with the formation of a salt.

REACTION
In general this reaction can be represented as

Base + Metal  Salt + Hydrogen

GENERAL CHARACTERISTIC PROPERTIES OF BASES
Reaction with acid
When base reacts with an acid , it forms salt and water. It is a
neutralization reaction, because base is neutralized by acid
and vice
REACTION

In general this reaction can be represented as

Base+ Acid  Salt + water
Reaction with non-metal oxides
Bases react with non-metal oxides like CO2 ,SO2 , SO3 ,etc. to
form salt and water.
REACTION

Thus , non - metal oxide are acid in character

What do all bases have in common?
(Definition of bases in terms of furnishing of OH- ions)
Bases when dissolve in water produce hydroxide ions in
the solution. This is the common characteristics of all
bases.

For example
Further , in the solution , just as hydrogen ions are
represented as H+(aq) ions hydroxide ions are
represented by OH-(aq).
Effect of Dilution on H+ ion Concentration of an acid or OH-(aq)
ion Concentration of a Base
Mixing of an acid/base with water is called dilution. The
process of dissolving an acid /base in water is a highly
exothermic reaction.

When we dilute an acid, the concentration of H+ (aq ) ions

per unit volume in the solution decreases i.e. the solution
becomes less acidic.

When we dilute a solution of a base, the concentration of

0H-(aq) ions per unit volume in the solution decreases i.e.
the basic strength of the solution decreases with dilution.
The precautions that should be taken during dilution of an acid or a base

Dilution of an acid or a base is highly exothermic

reaction. The heat produced is so large that the
solution may be splash out or the container may
break due to excessive localized heating.
Hence, dilution of a concentrated acid or base is
always done by taking sufficient amount of water
in a beaker and adding concentrated acid or
base into it slowly with stirring. Thus we always
dilute an acid or base by adding acid or base into
water and not water into acid or base.
STRENGTH OF ACIDS AND BASE
Acids and bases are classified on the bases of their
strength
Strong and weak acids

Acids which are completely ionized in water and produce

large amount of H+(aq) ions are known strong acids.
Example mineral acids like sulphuric acid (H2SO4), nitric
acid (HNO3) , hydrochloric acid (HCl) whereas acids
which are partially ionized in water and produce small
amount of H+(aq) ions are known as weak acids .
Example acetic acid (CH3COOH), formic acid (HCOOH).
STRENGTH OF ACIDS AND BASE
Strong and weak bases
Bases like sodium hydroxide and potassium hydroxide etc
when dissolve in water dissociate completely in ions and
give large amount of ions in the solutions are called
strong bases. Whereas, bases like ammonium hydroxide
and calcium hydroxide when dissolve in water dissociate
only partially to give small amount of OH-ions. They are
known as weak bases.
pH scale
Universal indicator
A universal indicator is a mixture of a
number of indicators. To measure the pH
of any solution, a paper strip impregnated
with the universal indicator known as pH
Paper is used.

By simply dipping the universal pH paper

into the given solution and noting its
colour , pH value of the solution can be
find out with the help of a given chart
which show different colour at different pH
values.
Importance of PH in everyday life
In biological system
Most of the reactions taking place in our body in narrow pH
range of 7.0 to 7.8 .When pH of rainwater is less than 5.6 it is
called as acid rain. When acid rain flows into the rivers, it
lowers the pH of river water and harmful for aquatic animals.
Plants have a healthy growth only when the soil has a specific
pH range which should be neither alkaline nor highly acidic.
In digestive system
Some time the stomach produces too much acid. this causes
pain and irritation . To get rid of this pain, people use base
called antacid that is magnesium hydroxide or milk of
magnesia these are bases that neutralize acids.
Importance of PH in everyday life
pH change as the cause of tooth decay

Tooth enamel does not dissolved in water but is corroded

when the pH in the mouth is below 5.5. Bacteria present
in the mouth produced acid by degradation of sugar and
food particle remaining in the mouth after eating Using
toothpaste which are generally basic, for cleaning the
teeth can neutralize the excess acid and prevent tooth
decay.
Importance of PH in everyday life
Self defense by animals and plants through
chemical warfare

When we are stung by an honey Bee or yellow ant, we

feel pain and irritation this is due to the acid injected our
skin by the bee or the ant. To get the relief , we apply
the solution of mild base like baking soda similarly,
nettle plants have leaves with stinging hairs. If these are
touched accidently , they cause a lot of pain due to
formic acid injected by these leaves into the skin.
Salts
Salts are the ionic compounds consisting of two parts, cation
(positive ion) and anion (negative ion). Example sodium
chloride (NaCl), sodium sulphate(Na2 SO4), calcium carbonate
(CaCO3), ammonium chloride(NH4Cl).
Characteristics
They are mostly solids.
Salt solution can conduct electricity.
They have high melting and boiling points.
Families of salts
Salts having the same positive or negative radicals are
said to be belong to a family. For example
Classification of salts
1. Salts of strong acids and strong base.

These salts on dissolving in water produce strong acid and

strong base. For example

Reaction

These salts are neutral with pH value of 7

2. Salts of strong acids and weak base.

Reaction

These salts on dissolving in water produce strong acid and

weak base. For exampl

These salts are acidic with pH value less than 7

Classification of salts
3. Salts of weak acids and strong base.
These salts on dissolving in water produce strong acid
and weak base. For example
Reaction
These salts are basic with pH value more than 7
4. Salts of weak acids and weak base.
These salts on dissolving in water produce weak acid and
weak base. For example
Reaction
These salts are neutral with pH value of 7
Common salt or sodium chloride ( )
Chemically, common salt or table salt is sodium chloride
i.e. NaCl.
Occurrence and extraction of common salt
The important sources of common salts are
1) Sea water -Sea water contains number of salts
dissolved in it, most of which is sodium chloride. It is
obtained by evaporation of sea water.
2) Rock salts -Common is also found in the form of solid
deposits in several parts of the world. Due to the
presence of impurities it is often brown in colour and
is called rock salt. Types of rock salt believed to have
been formed as a result of drying up bygone ages.
Common salt or sodium chloride ( )
USES
1) Common salt is used as a raw material for making a
large number of useful Chemicals like Sodium
Hydroxide, sodium carbonate, sodium hydrogen
carbonate and hydrogen chloride etc.
2) It is used in cooking to improve the flavor of food.
3) It is used as preservative for a number of food
materials like meat and fishes and pickles.
4) It is used in the manufacturing of soap.
5) It is used to melt the ice which collects on the road
during winter.
Common salt as raw material for production of other chemicals.
Common salt is an important starting material for the
production of a number of other chemicals such as sodium
chloride, hydrochloric acid, sodium hydroxide sodium
carbonate ,sodium hydrogen carbonate, bleaching powder
and many other.

Caustic soda( sodium hydroxide , )

It is manufactured by the electrolysis of aqueous solution of

sodium chloride called brine.

Reaction
During electrolysis chlorine is collected at the anode and
hydrogen is collected at the cathode. Sodium hydroxide is
also formed near the cathode .
All the products of this reaction are useful and collected separately. This
method is also called chloro -alkali process because the products of
electrolysis are chlorine and sodium hydroxide chloro for chlorine and
Alkali for sodium hydroxide.
Bleaching powder (calcium oxychloride, )
Bleaching powder is produced by the action of Chlorine gas on
dry slaked lime Ca(OH)2 the following reaction takes place.

Reaction

USES

• It is used for bleaching cotton and linen.

• It is also used for bleaching wood pulp in paper factory.
• As an oxidizing agent in many chemical industries.
• For disinfecting drinking water. As chlorine liberated
by it kill the germs.
Baking soda
Sodium hydrogen carbonate ( Sodium Bicarbonate, )

Baking soda is manufactured when sodium chloride(brine) react

with ammonia and CO2.the method is known as Solvay
process.

Reaction

Baking soda is a mild non-corrosive base. Which is used for

faster cooking on heating it produces carbon dioxide which
help in faster cooking.

Reaction
Baking soda
Use

1. It is used as an ingredient in antacid. It is alkaline in nature so

it neutralizes excess acid in the stomach and provides relief.

2. For making baking powder which is a mixture of backing soda

and a mild edible acid like tartaric acid. When baking powder is
heated and mixed with water following reaction takes place.

Reaction

1. Carbon dioxide produced during the reaction causes the bread

or cake to rise making them soft and spongy.
Washing soda (sodium carbonate dehydrate , )
When sodium chloride react with ammonia and CO2
produces Sodium Bicarbonate.
Reaction
On heating, Sodium Bicarbonate decomposes to form anhydrous
sodium carbonate or soda Ash.
Reaction
Recrystallization of sodium carbonate give rise to washing soda.
Reaction
It is transparent soluble in water and basic in nature.
Uses
1.It is used in glass, soap and paper industries.
2.It is used to manufacture Borax.
3.It is used as a cleaning agent for domestic purpose.
4.It is also used for removing permanent hardness of water.
CRYSTALLINE SALTS
Many crystalline salts like CuSO4.5H2O, Na2CO3.10
H2O, FeSO4.7H2O, CaSO4.2H2O etc. which seem to be
dry contain water of crystallization.
Water of crystallization
It is a fixed number of water molecules present in one
formula unit of a salt.
Salts of water of crystallization are not wet because
water of crystallization is a part of crystal structure of a
salt it is not free water so it does not wet the salt.
CRYSTALLINE SALTS
Experiment to test the presence of water of
crystallization in a crystalline salt
Take a few crystals of copper sulphate in a dry test tube.
1. Heat the test tube , blue copper sulphate crystals turn
white.
2. Water droplets appear on the upper cooler parts inside the
test tube. On heating , hydrated copper sulphate loses
water molecules to give anhydrous copper sulphate which
is white.

Reaction
Now put 2-3 drops of water on the white crystals, they again
turn it blue.
On moistening with water, it again changes into crystalline
copper sulphate and hence the colour again becomes blue.
Reaction
PLASTER OF PARIS (CaSO4.1/2H2O)
It is prepared from gypsum which is calcium sulphate
dehydrate. Gypsum is heated a klin to a temperature of
hundred degrees Celsius at this temperature it loses three
fourth of its water of crystallization forming plaster of
Paris.

Reaction

The temperature is not allowed to rise beyond hundred

degree Celsius as otherwise full of water of crystallization
is lost is forming anhydrous calcium sulphate.
PLASTER OF PARIS (CaSO4.1/2H2O)
Properties of plaster of Paris
Plaster of Paris is a white powder and on mixing with water it changes to
gypsum and give a hard solid mass.

Reaction

In plaster of Paris 2 formula units of CaSO4 share one molecule of water

so the formula of POP

Uses of plaster of Paris

1. Plaster of Paris is used for making toys, decorative materials, jewelry
and cosmetics.
2. It is also used for setting fractured bones in right position.
3. In making the surface smooth example that of wall ceiling before paint.
4. In making chalk for writing on the blackboard.
5. In laboratory, for making the apparatus air-tight by sealing the gap at the
stopper.
6. In making fire proof materials.