Acids and Bases

PGCC CHM 101 Sinex

General properties
ACIDS
Taste sour
Turn litmus
React with active
metals Fe, Zn



React with bases
BASES
Taste bitter
Turn litmus
Feel soapy or
slippery (react with
fats to make soap)
React with acids
blue to red red to blue
Definitions
Acids produce H
+
Bases - produce OH
-

Acids donate H
+
Bases accept H
+

Acids accept e
-
pair
Bases donate e
-
pair
Arrehenius
Bronsted-Lowry
Lewis
only in water
any solvent
used in organic chemistry,
wider range of substances
Examples
Arrhenius
Bronsted-Lowry
Lewis
HCl
NaOH
HCl NH
3
:NH
3
BF
3
HCN
The hydrogen ion in aqueous solution
H
+
+ H
2
O H
3
O
+
(hydronium ion)
The Bronsted-Lowry Concept
Conjugate pairs
HCl Cl
-
CH
3
COOH CH
3
COO
-
NH
4
+
NH
3
HNO
3
NO
3
-
How does a conjugate pair differ?
H
+
transfer
Neutralization
In general: Acid + Base Salt + Water
All neutralization reactions are double displacement reactions.
HCl + NaOH NaCl + HOH
HCl + Mg(OH)
2

H
2
SO
4
+ NaHCO
3

H
2
O H
+
+ OH
-
Does pure water conduct electrical current?
(H
+
)(OH
-
) = 10
-14

For pure water: (H
+
) = (OH
-
) = 10
-7
M

This is neutrality and
at 25
o
C is a pH = 7.
Water is a very, very, very weak electrolyte.
How are (H
+
) and (OH
-
) related?
water
HA
Lets examine the behavior of
an acid, HA, in aqueous solution.
What happens to the HA molecules in solution?
HA
H
+
A
-
Strong Acid
100% dissociation of HA
Would the
solution be
conductive?
HA
H
+
A
-
Weak Acid
Partial dissociation of HA
Would the
solution be
conductive?
HA
H
+
A
-
Weak Acid
HA H
+
+ A
-
At any one
time, only a
fraction of
the molecules
are
dissociated.
Strong and Weak Acids/Bases
Strong acids/bases 100% dissociation into ions

HCl NaOH
HNO
3
KOH
H
2
SO
4
Weak acids/bases partial dissociation,
both ions and molecules

CH
3
COOH NH
3


pH
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
neutral @ 25
o
C
(H
+
) = (OH
-
)
distilled water
acidic
(H
+
) > (OH
-
)
basic or alkaline
(H
+
) < (OH
-
)
natural
waters pH =
6.5 - 8.5
normal rain (CO
2
)
pH = 5.3 5.7
acid rain (NO
x
, SO
x
)
pH of 4.2 - 4.4 in
Washington DC area
0-14 scale for the chemists
fish populations
drop off pH < 6
and to zero pH < 5
You
are
here!
http://nadp.sws.uiuc.edu/isopleths
pH of Rainwater
across United States in 2001
Why is the eastern US more acidic?
air masses
What is acid rain?
CO
2
(g) + H
2
O H
2
CO
3
H
+
+ HCO
3
-
Dissolved carbon dioxide lowers the pH
Atmospheric pollutants from combustion
NO, NO
2
+ H
2
O HNO
3
SO
2
, SO
3
+ H
2
O H
2
SO
4
both
strong
acids
pH < 5.3
105
Db
107
Bh
Behavior of oxides in water Group A
basic amphoteric acidic
3A 4A 5A 6A 7A
1A
2A
8A
Group B
basic: Na
2
O + H
2
O 2NaOH
(O
-2
+ H
2
O 2OH
-
)
acidic: CO
2
+ H
2
O H
2
CO
3
When life goes either way
amphoteric (amphiprotic) substances
HCO
3
-

H
2
CO
3
CO
3
-2
+ H
+
- H
+
Acting like
a base
Acting like
an acid
accepts H
+
donates H
+
pH
1 2 3 4 5 6 8 9 10 11
The biological view in the human body
acidic basic/alkaline
7
Tortora & Grabowski, Prin. of Anatomy & Physiology, 10
th
ed., Wiley (2003)
Does the pH influence the
activity of an enzyme?
Trypsin is a digestive enzyme. Where?
Intestinal pH range 7.0-8.5
The amino acid glycine - amphoteric
Its an acid and a base!
Loss of H
+
Gain of H
+
H
2
N-CH
2
-COOH
H
3
N
+
-CH
2
-COOH H
2
N-CH
2
-COO
-
Chime structure
The amino acid glycine - Zwitterion formation
Transfer of H
+
from carboxylic
acid group to amine group.

H
2
N-CH
2
-COOH
H
3
N
+
-CH
2
-COO
-
+
-
A dipolar
ion forms.
intramolecular acid-base reaction
Chime structure
Show how water can be amphoteric.
H
2
O
+ H
+
- H
+
Dilution
water (solvent) solute
concentrated, M
initial
diluted, M
final
adding water lowers the solute concentration
moles of solute remain constant
V
initial
V
final
moles
initial
= moles
final
M
final
x V
final
= M
initial
x V
initial
Titration Calculation
HCl + NaOH NaCl + HOH
at equivalence point: mole
HCl
= mole
NaOH
moles = M x V
L
M
acid
x V
initial acid
= M
base
x V
buret

A way to analyze solutions!
indicator