DELHI PUBLIC SCHOOL - BOPAL, AHMEDABAD
Study Material
Chapter 2: Acids, bases and salts
Indicator: An indicator is a substance that changes colour when put into an acid or a base.
Natural indicator:
Litmus indicator Turmeric indicator
It is obtained from lichen. When the litmus It is a natural indicator containing a yellow
solution is neither acidic nor basic, its colour dye.
is purple.
• Acidic solution: blue to red. • Acidic solutions: does not change its
• Basic solution: red to blue. colour, remains yellow.
• Basic solutions: changes to red
colour.
Synthetic indicators:
Phenolphthalein Methyl orange
• Neutral colour: colourless. • Neutral colour: orange.
• Acidic solution: colourless. • Acidic solution: red colour.
• Basic solution: pink colour. • Basic solution: yellow color.
Olfactory indicators:
• An Olfactory indicator is a substance whose smell varies depending on whether it is
mixed with an acidic or basic solution. Onion, clove oil, and vanilla extract are
examples.
• When a basic solution like sodium hydroxide is added to a cloth strip treated with
onions, cloves, or vanilla, the smell cannot be detected (smell of the indicator
vanishes). An acidic solution, however, does not destroy the smell of onions, cloves,
or vanilla.
Acids:
• Acid is a substance that, when dissolved in water to produce hydrogen ions (H+).
• HCl (aq) H+ + Cl-
• HNO3 (aq) H+ + NO3 –
• H2SO4 (aq) 2H+ + SO4 2-
Hydrogen ion do not exist as H+ ions in solution, they attach
themselves to water molecules to form hydronium ions.
• Based on the source, acids can be classified as Organic acids and Mineral acids.
• Organic acids • Mineral acids
• Obtained from plants and animals. • Obtained from minerals.
• These are weak acids. • These are generally strong acids like
HCl (hydrochloric acid), H2SO4
(sulfuric acid), HNO3 (nitric acid),
H2CO3 (carbonic acid), H3PO4
(phosphoric acid).
Organic acid Source
Acetic acid Vinegar
Citric acid Citrus fruits like lemons and
oranges.
Lactic acid Curd
Tartaric acid Tamarind, unripe grapes
Oxalic acid Tomatoes
Methanoic acid Ant sting, nettle leaf sting
• Strong acids: An acid which is completely ionised in water and thus produces a large
amount of hydrogen ions. E.g. HCl, HNO3, H2SO4
• Weak acids: An acid which is partially ionized in water and thus produces a small
amount of hydrogen ions. E.g. CH3COOH (Acetic acid), H2CO3 (Carbonic acid).
• A concentrated acid has a relatively larger amount of acid than water.
• A dilute acid has a relatively smaller amount of acid than water.
Q. What happens when water is mixed with an acid or a base?
• Mixing of an acid and a base in water is called dilution.
• Always add the acid/base to the water rather than the other way around.
• When water is added to acid, water reacts vigorously, causing an exothermic
reaction, releasing tremendous heat, sometimes boiling the liquid. As a result, acid
may splatter and splash.
Physical properties of acids:
• Taste sour
• Turn blue litmus paper red
• Are corrosive (e.g. seen in acid rain).
• They are electrolytes.
• An aqueous solution of an acid conducts electricity: When
hydrochloric acid is dissolved in water, it releases hydrogen
ions and chloride ions, due to which the bulb glows.
Learn activity 2.9
Q. What do you infer about the acidic character of:
• (i) Dry HCl gas
• (ii) HCl solution?
Q. (a) Hydrogen-containing compounds such as Glucose (C6H12O6) and Alcohol
(C2H5OH) is not considered an acid, even though they have hydrogen. Why?
(b) Design an activity to confirm that solutions of alcohol and glucose do not conduct
electricity?
Chemical properties of acids
1. Reaction of acids and metals:
Acids react with metals to liberate hydrogen gas.
• Metals + Acid Salt +Hydrogen gas
• Refer to activity 2.3
2. Reaction of acids with metal carbonates and metal bicarbonates:
• Acid + Metal carbonates/Metal bicarbonate Salt + Carbon dioxide + Water
• Refer to activity 2.5
Confirmatory test for CO2:
• Lime water turns milky due to the formation of calcium
carbonate.
• When excess of gas is passed then solution becomes clear due
to formation of calcium bicarbonate which is soluble in
water.
• Limestone, chalk and marble are different forms of calcium carbonate.
3. Reaction of acids with bases:
Acids react with a base to form salt and water.
• Acid +Base Salt + Water
• This reaction is called as neutralisation reaction.
• Refer to activity 2.5
4. Reaction of acids with metal oxides and metal hydroxides
Acid reacts with metal oxides and metal hydroxides to form salt and water
• Metal oxide +Acid salt + water
• Metal hydroxide +Acid salt + water
• Metal oxides and Metal hydroxides are basic in nature.
• Refer to activity 2.7
• The colour of the solution becomes blue-green and the copper oxide dissolves.
Bases:
• Base is a substance that, when dissolved in water to produce hydroxide ions (OH-).
• NaOH(s) (aq) Na+ + OH–
• Mg(OH)2 (s) (aq) Mg2+ + 2OH–
• Strong bases: those bases which completely dissociate into its ions in aqueous
solutions. Example: NaOH, KOH, LiOH
• Weak bases: those bases which do not completely dissociate into its ions in aqueous
solutions. Example: (NH4OH), Zn(OH)2, Al(OH)3, Fe(OH)2, Cu(OH)2
Alkalies:
• A base which is soluble in water is called an alkali like NaOH, KOH.
• All alkalis are bases, but all bases are not alkalis.
Physical properties of bases:
• Taste bitter
• Feels slippery
• Turn red litmus blue
• Conduct electricity in solutions.
• Strong bases are corrosive.
Chemical properties of bases
1. Reaction of bases with metals:
Some metals, like Zn, Al, and Sn, only react with bases.
• Metals + Base Salt + Hydrogen gas
• Refer to activity 2.4
Q. Write the chemical reaction between Al metal and NaOH solution.
2. Reaction of bases with metal carbonates and metal bicarbonates:
Bases do not react with metal carbonates and metal hydrogen carbonates
• Metal carbonate/metal bicarbonates + base no reaction
• All metal carbonates and metal bicarbonates are basic in nature.
3. Reaction of bases with metals:
Bases react with an acid to form a salt and water.
• Acid +Base Salt + Water
• This reaction is called as neutralisation reaction.
4. Reaction of bases with non-metal oxide:
• Non-metal oxide + base salt + water
• This reaction is similar to the reaction between a base and an acid because CO2 is
acidic in nature, so we can conclude that, generally, non-metal oxides are acidic in
nature.
• Some non-metal oxides are also neutral (they do not react with base) e.g. CO,
N2O, NO.
pH: Potenz (power)of hydrogen ion concentration.
• pH is the measure of the acidity or basicity of a solution.
• pH < 7 ( acid )
• pH > 7 ( base)
• pH = 7 (neutral)
Variation of pH with the change in [H+]
The pH is inversely proportional to the concentration of hydrogen ions.
Importance of pH in everyday life:
1. pH in our digestive system:
• Our stomach produces hydrochloric acid for the digestion of food. But during
indigestion, an excess of acid is produced in the stomach, and therefore, the pH
decreases. This causes pain and irritation. So, to neutralise this excess acid, a mild
base is used. This mild base works as an antacid.
E.g. baking soda, milk of magnesia or magnesium hydroxide.
2. pH change as a cause of tooth decay:
• Tooth enamel is made up of calcium phosphate Ca3(PO4)2, which gets corroded
when the pH in the mouth is below 5.5. If food particles remain after eating, bacteria
present in our mouth produce lactic acid through the degradation of sugar.
• The best way to prevent this is to clean the mouth after eating food. Using basic
toothpastes.
3. Self-defence in animals and plants:
• Bees and ants sting injects methanoic acid or formic acid. To neutralise the effect, a
mild base like baking soda can be used.
• A wasp sting injects an alkaline liquid. To neutralise the effect, a mild acid like
vinegar can be used.
• Stinging hair of nettle leaves injects methanoic acid into the skin. Nature has provided
a remedy in the form of the dock plant.
4. Soil pH:
• If the soil is too acidic, then it is treated by slaked lime(calcium hydroxide), chalk
(calcium carbonate), or quicklime (calcium oxide).
• If the soil is too alkaline, then it can be reduced by adding decaying matter which
contains acid.
Salts: These are the ionic compound consisting of positively charged ion (cation) and
negatively charged ion (anion). E.g. NaCl, Na2SO4, NaNO3 , (NH4)2SO4 , NH4Cl etc.
• Salt solutions conduct electricity due to the presence of ions in them.
Family of salts:
Salts having the same positive or negative radicals are said to belong to the same family.
Salts of hydrochloric acid- chlorides.
• HCl + NaOH NaCl + H2O
Salts of sulphuric acid - sulphates.
• H2SO4 + NaOH Na2SO4 + H2O
Salts of nitric acid- nitrates.
• HNO3 + NaOH NaNO3 + H2O
Salts of carbonic acid- carbonates.
• H2CO3 + NaOH Na2CO3 + H2O
Salts of acetic acid- acetates.
• CH3COOH + NaOH CH3COONa + H2O
pH of salt solution:
Nature of parent acid and base pH of salt
Salt of strong acid & strong base Neutral salt
HCl + NaOH NaCl + H2O
Salt of weak acid & strong base Basic salt
H2CO3 + NaOH Na2CO3 + H2O
Salt of strong acid & weak base Acidic salt
HCl + NH4OH NH4Cl + H2O
Salt of weak acid & weak base Neutral salt
CH3COOH + NH4OH CH3COONH4 + H2O
Water of crystallisation: It is the fixed number of water molecules present in one formula
unit of a salt.
The salt containing water of crystallisation is called a hydrated salt. E.g.
Na2CO3.10H2O, Na2SO4.10H2O, CuSO4.5H2O
Are the crystals of the salts dry?
• CuSO4 crystals, which seem to be dry, contain water of
crystallisation.
• You will notice water droplets in the boiling tube when you
heat the test tube containing CuSO4 crystals.
• When we heat the crystals, this water is removed, and the salt turns
white. If you moisten the crystals again with water, blue colour
reappears.
Q. Complete the table to summarise the difference between hydrated copper sulphate
and anhydrous copper sulphate.
Hydrated copper sulphate Anhydrous copper sulphate
1. Colour
2. State (Crystalline/Amorphous)
Chemicals from common salt:
1. Caustic soda (Sodium hydroxide):
Preparation: It is produced by electrolysis of NaCl (brine) called chlor-alkali process.
• Chlorine is produced at anode and hydrogen gas is produced at cathode. NaOH is
produced near cathode.
2. Baking soda: (Sodium hydrogen carbonate)
Preparation:
Action of heat:
• When NaHCO3 is heated, sodium carbonate is produced, which is bitter in taste.
Uses:
1. It is used in making baking powder.
• Baking powder is a mixture of baking soda and a mild edible acid such as
tartaric acid.
• When baking powder mixes with water, the following reaction occurs:
2. It is used as an antacid.
3. It is used in a soda-fire extinguisher.
H2SO4 + NaHCO3 Na2SO4 + CO2 + H2O
Q. State the difference in chemical composition between baking soda and baking
powder.
3. Washing soda (Sodium carbonate): It is prepared by Solvay process or ammonia-soda
process. It is prepared in three steps:
Step three is recrystallisation of sodium carbonate:
Uses:
1. It is used as a cleansing agent for domestic purposes, like washing clothes.
2. It is used for removing permanent hardness of water.
3. It is used in the manufacture of glass, soap, detergents and paper.
4. It is used in the manufacture of sodium compounds such as borax(Na2B4O7).
4. Bleaching powder (Calcium oxychloride)
• Bleaching powder is represented as Ca(ClO)2, though the actual composition is quite
complex.
Preparation: It is prepared by the action of chlorine on dry slaked lime. The solution is
milky due to the presence of some unreacted lime.
Properties of Bleaching powder:
• It is a solid and yellowish white.
• When exposed to air, bleaching powder gives a smell of chlorine. This is because it
reacts with carbon dioxide to produce calcium carbonate and chlorine.
• Aqueous solution of bleaching powder is basic.
Uses:
1. It is used for disinfecting drinking water.
2. It is used for bleaching cotton and linen in the textile industry, for bleaching wood pulp in
paper factories, and for bleaching washed clothes in laundries.
3. It is used as an oxidising agent in industries and in the manufacturing of chloroform.
Plaster of Paris: Calcium sulphate hemihydrate
• It is prepared by heating gypsum at 373 K.
Q. Can you get half a water molecule?
• It is written in this form because two formula units of CaSO 4 share one molecule of
water.
• If gypsum is heated beyond 373 K, then all the water of crystallisation is removed
from it, which results in anhydrous calcium sulphate, which is also called dead burnt
plaster. The disadvantage of this dead burnt plaster is that it doesn’t set like plaster of
Paris after adding water.
Properties of pop:
• Plaster of Paris is a white powder.
• At ordinary room temperature, pop absorbs water and a large amount of heat is
liberated.
• During setting, a slight expansion in volume occurs. Because of this property, it
gives a sharp impression.
• The setting of plaster of Paris is due to its hydration to form crystals of gypsum,
which set to form a hard and solid mass.
Uses:
1. It is used in making casts and patterns for moulds and statues.
2. It is used as a fireproofing material and for making chalks.
3. Used in hospitals for immobilising the affected parts (bone fracture or strain).
4. Used to fill small gaps on walls and roofs.
