Acids and Bases By Samantha King

What is an acid? According to Bronsted and Lowry, an acid is any chemical component with a pH less than 7, and that donates a hydrogen ion to a base. Acids can occur in solid, liquid or gaseous form, depending on the temperature and they can exist as pure substances or in solution.

Strong Acids Strong acids are acids that are completely or nearly 100% ionized in their solutions. Some examples of strong acids are: HCl, HBr, HI, HClO 3, H 2 SO 4,

What is a Base? A base is an aqueous substance that accepts hydrogen ions. Bases have a pH greater than 7.

Strong Bases Strong bases are completely ionized in solution. Some strong bases are: NaOH, KOH, CsOH, Ca(OH) 2

Comparison ACIDS sour taste release an H+ (hydrogen) ion into water solution neutralize bases in a neutralization reaction corrode active metals turns litmus paper red pH less than 7 BASES bitter taste release an OH- (hydroxide) ion into water solution neutralizes acids in a neutralization reaction denatures proteins slippery feeling on skin turn litmus paper blue pH more than 7

The pH Scale The pH scale measures how acidic or basic a substance is. Ranges from 0 to 14. A pH of 7 is neutral. A pH less than 7 is acidic. A pH greater than 7 is basic. The pH scale is logarithmic and as a result, each whole pH value below 7 is ten times more acidic than the next higher value. For example, pH 4 is ten times more acidic than pH 5 and 100 times (10 times 10) more acidic than pH 6. The same holds true for pH values above 7, each of which is ten times more alkaline (another way to say basic) than the next lower whole value. For example, pH 10 is ten times more alkaline than pH 9 and 100 times (10 times 10) more alkaline than pH 8.

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