10 Common acids and

alkalis

10. Acids and alkalis (Book 2B, p. 87)

A Acids (Book 2B, p. 87)

B Alkalis (Book 2B, p. 88)

 Acids (酸) have a (1) _________________ taste. Alkalis (鹼) are (2) _________________ (滑的)
and some of them have a (3) _________________ taste.
 Do the substances below contain acids or alkalis? Write down a to j in the spaces provided.

soft drink noodles apple vinegar baking soda

a b c d e

shampoo bleach toothpaste toilet cleaner kitchen cleaner

f g h i j

 Contain acids: (4) ______________________________

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  Contain alkalis: (5) ______________________________

 (6) _____________________________ (氫氯酸), (7) _____________________________ (硫酸) and

(8) _____________________________ (硝酸) are acids commonly used in the school laboratory.
 (9) _______________________________ (氫氧化鈉), (10) _____________________________ (氨
溶液) and (11) _____________________________ (石灰水) are alkalis commonly used in the school
laboratory.
C Using acids and alkalis safely (Book 2B, p. 89)

1 Safety precautions when handling acids and alkalis in the laboratory

(Book 2B, p. 89)

 Read the (12) ______________________________________

on the bottles of acids or alkalis.

 Wear (13) ________________________

________________________.

 Wear a laboratory coat and put on (14)

__________________________
to avoid direct contact with acids or alkalis.
 Fill no more than (15) ___________________ of the container
when working with acidic or alkaline solutions.

 Never taste acids or alkalis.

 Do not mix acids or alkalis with other chemicals without getting approval from the teacher.
 Pour the waste solutions into suitable (16) ___________________________. Do not pour
them into the sink.
 Wash hands thoroughly after handling acids or alkalis.

2 Emergency treatment involving acids and alkalis (Book 2B, p. 90)

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  If acids or alkalis are in contact with our body accidentally, wash the
affected area under (17) ______________________________.
 If the eye is affected, wash it with distilled water from an
(18) ________________________________.

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 10. Indicators for distinguishing acids and

2 alkalis (Book 2B, p. 91)

A Indicators in nature (Book 2B, p. 91)

 Some plants, e.g. red cabbage leaves, red rose petals, grape skins and onion skins, contain
pigments which show different colours in acidic and alkaline solutions. Their extract can be
used as (1) ______________________________ of acids and alkalis.
 The use of certain plant extracts as indicators of acids and alkalis was discovered by the British
scientist (2) ______________________________ in the 17th century.

B Acid-alkali indicators used in the laboratory (Book 2B, p. 95)

1 Litmus (Book 2B, p. 95)

 There are two kinds of (3) ___________________ (石蕊), the blue litmus and the red litmus.
They are available in the form of (4) ______________________________ (石蕊溶液) or
(5) ______________________________ (石蕊試紙).
 The colours of blue and red litmus paper in different solutions:

In neutral solution
Litmus paper In acidic solution In alkaline solution
(e.g. distilled water)
Blue litmus paper (6) (7) (8)

Red litmus paper (9) (10) (11)

2 Universal indicator and the pH scale (Book 2B, p. 98)

 The (12) ______________________________ (pH 標度) shows the degree of acidity or alkalinity
of a substance.
neutral

pH value

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more acidic more alkaline
  Fill in the blanks below with the symbols ‘＝’, ‘＞’ or ‘＜’.
 pH values of neutral substances (13) __________ 7;
 pH values of acidic substances (14) __________ 7;
 pH values of alkaline substances (15) __________ 7.
 The pH value of a substance can be found by using:

(16) ________________________________ (17) ________________________________

10. Corrosive nature of acids (Book 2B, p. 104)

A Effects of acids on metals (Book 2B, p. 104)

 Dilute acids react with some metals to produce (1) ___________________. The metals
decrease in size. We say that acids (2) ___________________ (腐蝕) the metals.
 Dilute acids (3) ____________________________ (react / do not react) with zinc, magnesium
and iron. They (4) ____________________________ (react / do not react) with copper.
 We should avoid using (5) ___________________ containers to cook or store acidic foods.

B Effects of acids on building materials (Book 2B, p. 107)

 Before concrete (混凝土) was widely used as building material, many buildings were
made of (6) ___________________ (大理石), (7) ___________________ (石灰石) or
(8) ___________________ (砂岩). These building materials contain (9) ___________________

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 ________________ (碳酸鈣).
 Dilute acids react with these building materials to produce (10) ________________________.
The building materials become corroded and worn away gradually.
C Potential dangers in handling concentrated strong acids and
alkalis (Book 2B, p. 110)
 What kinds of acid/alkali do the following refer to? Put a ‘’ in the appropriate boxes.

Strong Strong Weak Weak

acids alkalis acids alkalis
(11) The acids found in food and seasonings
(12) The acids found in food, soap and baking soda
(13) Hydrochloric acid, sulphuric acid and nitric acid
(14) Sodium hydroxide and potassium hydroxide

 In general, concentrated acids and alkalis are (15) _____________ (more / less) corrosive than
dilute acid and alkalis.

10. Acid rain (Book 2B, p. 114)

 If rainwater has a pH value lower than (1) _____________, it is considered as acid rain (酸雨).

A Causes of acid rain (Book 2B, p. 114)

 Acid rain is caused by acidic air pollutants, such as (2) ________________________ (二氧化硫)
and (3) __________________________ (氮氧化物), dissolving in the water droplets in air.

B Effects of acid rain on the environment (Book 2B, p. 115)

 Acid rain (4) ___________________ metal objects as well as
buildings and statues made of marble, limestone or sandstone.
 Acid rain increases the (5) ___________________ of the
water in rivers and lakes, causing harm to aquatic life.

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  Acid rain damages plants.

C Preventive measures against acid rain (Book 2B, p. 118) Extension

 Acidic air pollutants can be carried by (6) ___________________ from their site of production
to areas hundreds of kilometers away, leading to acid rain in those areas.
 The most effective way to control acid rain is to reduce the (7) ___________________ of
acidic air pollutants.

10. Neutralization (Book 2B, p. 122)

A What is neutralization? (Book 2B, p. 122)

 (1) _________________________ (中和作用) takes place when a certain amount of an acid is
mixed with a certain amount of an alkali. When an acid and an alkali neutralizes each other, a
(2) ___________________ and (3) ___________________ are formed.
 Word equation of neutralization:

(4) ____________ + (5) ____________ (6) ____________ + (7) ____________

 Examples of neutralization:
 sodium hydroxide + hydrochloric acid (8) ________________________ + water
(also called table salt)
 potassium hydroxide + nitric acid (9) ____________________________ + water
(a component of chemical fertilizer)

B Uses of neutralization (Book 2B, p. 127)

 Some uses of neutralization:

 (10) ___________________ is slightly alkaline. Brushing teeth with

it helps neutralize the acids in the mouth and prevents tooth decay.

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  (11) ___________________ (制酸劑) is alkaline. It can be used to
neutralize the excess acids in stomach and reduce the irritation to
the stomach wall.

 (12) ___________________ can be used to treat wasp stings

which are alkaline.

 (13) ________________________ can be used to treat bee

stings or ant bites which are acidic.

 (14) ___________________ (石灰) can be added to acidic soil to provide a suitable pH

value for crop growth.

 Acids or alkalis can be added to sewage containing alkaline or acidic chemical wastes.

10. More uses of acids and alkalis in daily life

(Book 2B, p. 130)

A Acids for food preservation (Book 2B, p. 130)

 Most micro-organisms (e.g. moulds and bacteria) cannot grow in low pH conditions.
Therefore, acids can be used as (1) ___________________ (防腐劑) to prevent food from going
bad.

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Answers

 Vinegar is commonly used

for food preservation

B Acids for preventing the browning of fruits (Book 2B, p. 133) Extension

 Some fruits, such as apples and pears, turn brown when they are cut. Acids can be used to slow
down the browning process by inhibiting the action of certain (2) ___________________ (酶) in
these fruits.

C Acids and alkalis as cleansing agents (Book 2B, p. 136)

 Many household cleaners contain acids or alkalis. For example,
 toilet cleaners contain (3) ___________________ for removing stains;
 kitchen cleaners contain (4) ___________________ for removing grease.

10 Common acids and alkalis

10.1
1 sour 2 slippery 3 bitter 4 a, c, d, f, i
5 b, e, h, g, j 6 Hydrochloric acid 7 sulphuric acid 8 nitric acid
9 Sodium hydroxide 10 ammonia solution 11 lime water 12 hazard warning labels
13 safety goggles 14 protective gloves 15 one-third 16 waste bottles
17 running water 18 eye wash bottle

10.2
1 natural indicators 2 Robert Boyle 3 litmus 4 litmus solution
5 litmus paper 6 red 7 blue 8 blue
9 red 10 red 11 blue 12 pH scale
13 ＝ 14 ＜ 15 ＞ 16 universal indicator
17 pH paper

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 10.3
1 hydrogen 2 corrode 3 react 4 do not react
5 metal 6 marble 7 limestone 8 sandstone
9 calcium carbonate 10 carbon dioxide 11 Weak acids 12 Weak alkalis
13 Strong acids 14 Strong alkalis 15 more

10.4
1 5.6 2 sulphur dioxide 3 nitrogen oxides 4 corrodes
5 acidity 6 wind 7 emission

10.5
1 Neutralization 2 salt 3 water 4 / 5 acid / alkali
6 / 7 salt / water 8 sodium chloride 9 potassium nitrate 10 Toothpaste
11 Antacid 12 Vinegar 13 Baking soda 14 Lime

10.6
1 preservatives 2 enzymes 3 acids 4 alkalis

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