WATER, ACIDS, BASES and

SALTS
Inorganic Compounds
The chemistry of life is sensitive to acidic and
basic conditions
In aqueous solutions, a small percentage of water
molecules break apart into ions.
Some are hydrogen ions (H
+
).
Some are hydroxide ions (OH

).
Both types are very reactive.
2012 Pearson Education, Inc.
The chemistry of life is sensitive to acidic
and basic conditions
A compound that releases H
+
to a solution is an acid.
A compound that accepts H
+
is a base.
The pH scale describes how acidic or basic a solution
is.
The pH scale ranges from 0 to 14, with zero the most acidic
and 14 the most basic.
Each pH unit represents a tenfold change in the
concentration of H
+
.

2012 Pearson Education, Inc.
Pure water has neutral pH (pH=7)
Number of H
+
ions = OH
-
ions
The chemistry of life is sensitive to acidic
and basic conditions
A buffer is a substance that minimizes changes in
pH. Buffers
accept H
+
when it is in excess and
donate H
+
when it is depleted.
2012 Pearson Education, Inc.
Acidic buffer solutions
simply one which has a pH less than 7.
are commonly made from a weak acid and one of its
salts - often a sodium salt.
Alkaline buffer solutions
have a pH greater than 7.
are commonly made from a weak base and one of its salts.
Figure 2.14
Acidic solution
Neutral solution
Basic solution
Oven cleaner
I
n
c
r
e
a
s
i
n
g
l
y

B
A
S
I
C

(
H
i
g
h
e
r

O
H

c
o
n
c
e
n
t
r
a
t
i
o
n
)

I
n
c
r
e
a
s
i
n
g
l
y

A
C
I
D
I
C

(
H
i
g
h
e
r

H

c
o
n
c
e
n
t
r
a
t
i
o
n
)

NEUTRAL
[H

][OH

]
Household bleach
Household ammonia
Milk of magnesia
Rainwater
Human urine
Saliva
Pure water
Human blood,
tears
Seawater
Tomato juice
pH scale
Battery acid
Lemon juice,
gastric juice
Vinegar, cola
Figure 2.14_1
I
n
c
r
e
a
s
i
n
g
l
y

A
C
I
D
I
C

(
H
i
g
h
e
r

H

c
o
n
c
e
n
t
r
a
t
i
o
n
)

Tomato juice
pH scale
Battery acid
Lemon juice,
gastric juice
Vinegar, cola
NEUTRAL
[H

][OH

]
Rainwater
Human urine
Saliva
Pure water
Figure 2.14_2
Oven cleaner
I
n
c
r
e
a
s
i
n
g
l
y

B
A
S
I
C

(
H
i
g
h
e
r

O
H

c
o
n
c
e
n
t
r
a
t
i
o
n
)

NEUTRAL
[H

][OH

]
Household bleach
Household ammonia
Milk of magnesia
Pure water
Human blood,
tears
Seawater
pH scale
Figure 2.14_3
Acidic
solution
Neutral
solution
Basic
solution
SALT when an acid and a base combine, the
properties which identify each one disappear. The product
is neither sour nor bitter
H
+
Cl
-
+ Na
+
OH
-
Na
+
Cl
-
+

H
+
OH
-
Hydrochloric
acid
Sodium
hydroxide
(base)
water
Sodium
Chloride (salt)
Biological Importance of Inorganic Compounds:
1. Water is the most abundant compound in organisms and it plays a
vital role in all life processes. It is an excellent solvent.
2. Acids, bases and salts are important to living things for the
following reasons:
a. Most animals have a pH of 7. Any change will seriously affect
life. This means they are neither acidic nor basic.
b. When dissolved in water, acids, bases, and salts separate into
ions and serve as electrolytes (they conduct electricity). Examples are
found in nerve & muscle cells
c. Salts are abundant in the body. Blood and perspiration are
salty in taste.
d. Body fluids of land vertebrates resemble seawater and suggest
that life originated from the sea.
When we burn fossil fuels (coal, oil, and gas),
air-polluting compounds and CO
2
are released
into the atmosphere.
Sulfur and nitrous oxides react with water in the air
to form acids.
These acids fall to Earth as acid precipitation, which
is rain, snow, or fog with a pH lower than 5.2.
CO
2
dissolving in seawater lowers ocean pH in a
process known as ocean acidification.

Acid precipitation and ocean acidification
threaten the environment
CONNECTION:
The emergent properties of water support life
on Earth.
When astrobiologists search for signs of
extraterrestrial life on distant planets, they look
for evidence of water.
The National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA) has found evidence that
water was once abundant on Mars.
The search for extraterrestrial life
centers on the search for water
EVOLUTION CONNECTION: