WESTERN LEYTE COLLEGE

COLLEGE OF NURSING AND ALLIED HEALTH SCIENCES

ACIDS AND BASES

Instructor: Elton Jhon M. Meridor

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General Chemistry I
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Names and Formulas of Some Common Inorganic Cations and Anions (Chang, 2010)

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ACIDS AND BASES

Objective
Discuss the properties of acids and bases.
Overview
In this lesson, learners are expected to understand the acid-base equilibrium, its applications to
the pH of solutions, and the use of buffer solutions. The learners will define further the concept of acids
and bases, the pH scale, the ionization of weak acids and weak bases, and the relationship between acid
strength and molecular structure.
Background
One of the most important processes in chemical and biological systems are acid-base reactions
in aqueous solutions. Many acids, bases, and salts occur in nature and serve a wide variety of purposes.
For instance, your stomach “digestive juice” contains approximately 0.10 mole of hydrochloric acid
(HCl) per liter. Human blood and the aqueous components of most cells are slightly basic. Many organic
acids (carboxylic acids) and their derivatives occur in nature. Acetic acid is present in vinegar; the sting
of an ant bite is due to formic acid. The pleasant odors and flavors of ripe fruit are due in large part to
the presence of esters that are formed from organic acids in unripe fruit (Whitten et al., 2010).
Properties of Aqueous Solutions of Acids and Bases
Aqueous solutions of most protic acids (those containing acidic hydrogen atoms) exhibit certain
properties (Whitten et al., 2010).
1. Acids have a sour taste.
2. Acids change the colors of many indicators. It turns blue litmus paper to red, and cause bromthymol
blue to change from blue to yellow.
3. Nonoxidizing acids react with metals above hydrogen in the activity series to liberate hydrogen gas,
H2.
4. Acids react with (neutralize) metal oxides and metal hydroxides to form salts and water.
5. Acids react with salts of weaker acids to form the weaker acid and the salt of the stronger acid; for
example,

6. Aqueous solutions of acids conduct an electric current because they are totally or partially ionized.

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Aqueous solutions of most bases also exhibit certain properties, which are due to the hydrated
hydroxide ions present in aqueous solutions of bases (Whitten et al., 2010).
1. Bases have a bitter taste.
2. Bases have a slippery feeling. Soaps are common examples that are mildly basic.
3. Bases change the colors of many indicators: bases turn litmus from red to blue, and bromthymol blue
changes from yellow to blue.
4. Bases react with (neutralize) acids to form salts and, in most cases, water.
5. Their aqueous solutions conduct an electric current because bases are dissociated or ionized to some
extent.
Acid-Base Theories
Arrhenius Concept
This concept only applies to aqueous solutions.
Acid – a substance that contains hydrogen and produces hydronium ions (H+) in aqueous solutions.
Examples are HCl, CH3COOH, H2SO4 and HNO3.
Base – a substance that contains the hydroxyl group (OH) and produces hydroxide ions (OH-) in
aqueous solutions. Examples are NaOH, KOH, are NH4OH.
Neutralization reaction – string Arrhenius acids and bases react with each other to form water and
aqueous salt. It is the reaction between the hydronium ion and the hydroxide ion to form water.
HCl (aq) + NaOH (aq) H2O (l) + NaCl (s)
Bronsted-Lowry Concept
This concept is referred as the proton transfer reactions.
Acid – any substance that donates protons (H+), proton donor.
Base – any substance that receives protons, proton acceptor. There are requirements for Bronsted-Lowry
bases: an unshared pair of electrons which can be used to create a bond with H + and it should
have at least one lone pair of electrons.
Proton Transfer Reactions
 It is a conjugate acid-base pairs which are related to each other through Bronsted-Lowry acid-
base reactions.
 An acid (HA) has a conjugate base (A-). A proton has transferred away from the acid.
 A base (B) has a conjugate acid (BH+). A proton has transferred towards the base.

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 Example will be shown below:

CH3COOH + CH3NH2 CH3COO- + CH3NH3+
Acetic Acid Methylamine Acetate ion Methylamine ion
Acid Base Conjugate Acid Conjugate base

Relative Strengths of Conjugate Acid-Base Pairs

Amphiprotic Substances – substances that have protons that can be donated (Bronsted-Lowry acid), and
lone pairs of electrons that can accept protons (Bronsted-Lowry Base). It can act like an acid and
a base. Example to an amphiprotic substance is water.
NH3 + H2O OH- + NH4+
Base Acid Conjugate base Conjugate Acid

H2O + HNO2 NO2- + H3O+

Base Acid Conjugate base Conjugate Acid

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Self-ionization of Water- it can act as an acid or a base at the same time because the molecule
has both protons and lone pairs available. This leads to the auto-dissociation of water,
equilibrium reaction:
H2O (l) + H2O (l) OH- (aq) + H3O+ (aq)
In pure water, the equilibrium constant for this reaction is called the ion-product constant for
water, Kw. At 25˚C:
Kw = [H3O+] [OH-] : [H3O+] = 1.0 x 10-7 mol/L : [OH-] = 1.0 x 10-7 mol/L
Kw = [H3O+] [OH-]
Kw = [1.0 x 10-7] [1.0 x 10-7]
Kw = 1.0 x 10-14
The value of Kw = 1.0 x 10-14 is valid for dilute aqueous solutions at 25˚C. The value of K w
changes with temperature.
At 45 ˚C:
Kw = 4.00 x 10-14
At 60 ˚C:
Kw = 9.60 x 10-14
The pH Scale
The concentrations of H+ and OH- ions in aqueous solutions are normally very small numbers
and inconvenient to work with. In 1909, Soren Sorensen proposed a more practical measure called pH.
The letters pH stand for the French words “pouvior hydrogene” which means hydrogen power. The pH
of a solution is defined as the negative of the common logarithm of the hydronium ion concentration
[H3O+] or [H+]. It is mathematically expressed as:
pH = -log [H3O+] or pH = -log [H+]
In terms of pOH, it is defined as the negative of the common logarithm of the hydroxide ion
concentration [OH-] and expressed below:
pOH = -log [OH-]

Acidic solutions: [H+] > 1.0 x 10-7 M, pH < 7.00

Basic solutions: [H+] < 1.0 x 10-7 M, pH > 7.00
Neutral solutions: [H+] = 1.0 x 10-7 M, pH = 7.00

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As the concentration of hydronium ions increases, the solution becomes more acidic and the pH
decreases. As the concentration of hydronium ions decreases, the solution becomes more basic and the
pH increases. The values of [H+] and [OH-] are related by Kw. The negative logarithm of Kw at 25 ˚C
which is 1 x 10-14 is equivalent to 14.0. The relationship is shown below:
pH + pOH = 14
Examples
A sample of seawater that has an OH - concentration of 1.58 x 10-6 mol/L. Calculate the pH of the
solution.
pOH = -log [OH-]
pOH = -log [1.58 x 10-6]
pOH = 5.80
pH = 14 – pOH
pH = 14 – 5.80
pH = 8.2

Calculate the pH of the sample of acid rain that has an H3O+ concentration of 6.0 x 10-5 mol/L.
pH = -log [H3O+]
pH = -log [6.0 x 10-5]
pH = 4.22
Equilibrium Constant, K
This constant will define the acid-base equilibrium. The magnitude of K will tell if the acid-base
equilibrium reaction favors the reactants or the products. If K is greater than 1, the reaction favors the
product side. If K is lesser than 1, the reaction favors the reactant side.
The strength of an acid in water is expressed through Ka while the strength of a base is can be
expressed through Kb. For strong acids and bases, K is very large. For weak acids and bases, K is very
small. For example in acetic acid, the acid dissociation constant, Ka, is 1.8 x 10-5. It is less than one
which shows that CH3COOH does not dissociate to a great extent and it classified as weak acid. The
same goes with ammonia, the base dissociation constant, Kb, is less than one and therefore, NH 3 is a
weak base.

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Bronsted-Lowry acid-base reaction involves conjugate acid-base pairs. There should be a

connection between the Ka value and the Kb value. The stronger the acid, the weaker its conjugate base.
The stronger the base, the weaker its conjugate acid. The sum of the reactions is the dissociation of
water reaction, which has the ion-product constant for water, Kw is 1.0 x 10-14.
Examples:
Piperidine (C5H11N) is an amine found in black pepper. If Kb is 1.6 x 10-3, calculate the Ka for the
C5H11NH+ cation.
KaKb = Kw
Kw
Ka =
Kb
−14
1.0 x 10
Ka = −3
1.6 x 10
Ka = 6.3 x 10-12
If the Ka for HOCl is 2.9 x 10-8, calculate the Kb for OCl-.
KaKb = Kw
Kw
Kb =
Ka
−14
1.0 x 10
Kb = −8
2.9 x 10
Kb = 3.4 x 10-7
Equilibrium in Solutions of Weak Acids and Bases
This involves the calculation of equilibrium concentrations of reactants and products in acid-base
reactions with known values for Ka and Kb. It figures out what is an acid and what is a base in the
system. The strongest acid or base will dominate a system. The principal reaction has the larger K value
in the equilibrium reaction and other reactions are subsidiary.
Example:
Acetic acid, CH3COOH, is the solute that gives vinegar its characteristic odor and sour taste.
Calculate the pH and the concentration of all the species that are present in if the starting concentration
is 1.00 mol/L.
CH3COOH (aq) + H2O (l) CH3COO- (aq) + H3O+ (aq)

Apply the concept of ICE, which stands for Initial, Change, and Equilibrium, in determining the
concentration.

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Species CH3COOH (aq) H2O (l) H3O+ (aq) CH3COO- (aq)

Initial 1.00 X 0.0 0.0
Change -x X +x +x
Equilibrium 1.00-x X +x +x
Ka of CH3COOH = 1.8 x 10-5
Ka = ¿ ¿
1.8 x 10-5 = ¿ ¿
There are two possible solutions to be done: by Assumption and through quadratic equation.
BY ASSUMPTION: the 5% rule!
(x)( x )
1.8 x 10-5 =
1.00−x
2
x
1.8 x 10-5 =
1.00−x
Simply get the square root of the acid dissociation constant of acetic acid and initial concentration.
x2 = (1.8 x 10-5) (1.00)

x = √ (1.8 x 10−5 )(1.00)

x = √ (1.8 x 10−5 )

x =± 4.2 x 10−3 mol/L

To check the assumption if it is valid: the percent validity should not be greater by 5%. Use the
equilibrium concentration of the hydronium ion.
−3
4.2 x 10
%validity = x 100 %
1.00
%validity = 0.42 %
The assumption is valid since it is below 5%.
Use the data to compute what is ask.
pH = -log [H3O+]
pH = -log [4.2 x 10−3]
pH = 2.38
Concentration of the species:
CH3COOH = 1.00 –x = 1.00 - 4.2 x 10−3 = 0.9958 mol/L
H2O = X

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CH3COO- = 4.2 x 10−3

H3O+ = 4.2 x 10−3

BY QUADRATIC EQUATION:
(x)( x )
1.8 x 10-5 =
1.00−x
2
x
1.8 x 10-5 =
1.00−x
x2 = (1.8 x 10-5) (1.00-x)
x2 = 1.8 x 10-5 - 1.8 x 10-5x
x2 + 1.8 x 10-5x - 1.8 x 10-5

−1.8 x 10−5 ± √ (1.8 x 10−5)2−4(1)(−1.8 x 10−5 )

x=
2(1)

−1.8 x 10−5 ± √ 3.24 x 10−10+7.2 x 10−5

x=
2

−1.8 x 10−5 ± √ 7.2 x 10−5

x=
2
−5 −3
−1.8 x 10 ± 8.485 x 10
x=
2

−5 −3 −5 −3
−1.8 x 10 +8.485 x 10 −1.8 x 10 −8.485 x 10
x1 = = 4.2 x 10-3 x2 = = -4.3 x 10-3
2 2
Use the data to compute what is ask.
pH = -log [H3O+]
pH = -log [4.2 x 10−3]
pH = 2.3
Concentration of the species:
CH3COOH = 1.00 –x = 1.00 - 4.2 x 10−3 = 0.9958 mol/L
H2O = X
CH3COO- = 4.2 x 10−3
H3O+ = 4.2 x 10−3

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Percent Ionization of Weak Acids

The pH of a solution of a weak acids like acetic acid will depend on the initial concentration of
the weak acid. The second measure of the strength of a weak acid is the percent ionization or
dissociation of the acid. It is expressed below
% ionized = ¿ ¿ x 100 %
Example:
From the previous example, the 1.0 mol/L acetic acid solution has an equilibrium concentration
of 4.2 x 10-3. What is the percent ionization?
% ionized = ¿ ¿ x 100 %
−3
[4.2 x 10 ]
% ionized = x 100 %
[1.00]
% ionized = 0.42 %
Other Factors that Affect Acid-Base Strength
1. Bond Strength – the strength of the bond between the acidic proton and the rest of the
molecule will have an effect on acidity. The weaker the bond, the stronger the acid will
generally be.
2. Bond Polarity – it is the distribution of the electrons between the two bonded atoms. A highly
polar bond between an acidic hydrogen and another atom tends to make it more easy for the
proton to leave the molecule that a non-polar bond.
3. Presence of oxoacids – acid strength tends to increase with the electronegativity of the central
atom, and with an increase in the central atom oxidation number.
4. Any factor that tends to reduce the availability of the lone pair will weaken the base and any
factor that tends to increase the availability of the lone pair will strengthen the base.
5. Inductive Effects – electronegative substituents increase acidity and decrease basicity, and
electron donating substituents decrease acidity and increase basicity.
The Common-Ion Effect
The common ion effect is the shift in equilibrium caused by the addition of a compound having
an ion in common with the dissolved substance. The presence of a common ion decreases the ionization
of a weak acid or a weak base. Consider the pH of a solution containing a weak acid, HA, and a soluble
salt of the weak acid, example is NaA. It is mathematically expressed below:

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HA (aq) A- (aq) + H+ (aq)

NaA (s) A- (aq) + Na+ (aq)

The ionization constant: Ka = ¿ ¿

Rearranging the equation: [H+] =

[ Ka ] [ HA ]
¿¿

[ HA ]
Taking the negative logarithm of both sides: -log [H+] = -log Ka - log
¿¿
-log [H+] = -log Ka + log ¿ ¿
Where: pH = -log [H+] and pKa = -log Ka
So: pH = pKa + log ¿ ¿
The equation is called the Henderson-Hasselbalch equation. A more general form of this
equation is expressed as:
[conjugate base ]
pH = pKa + log
[acid ]
Buffer Solution
It is a solution that is composed of a weak acid or a weak base, and the salt of weak acid or a
weak base. Both must be present in the solution. A buffer solution has the ability to resist changes in pH
upon the addition of small amounts of either acid or base. There are two kinds of a buffer system, an
acidic buffer and a basic buffer.
Examples:
What is the pH of a solution containing 0.30 M HCOOH and 0.52 M HCOO-K+? The acid
dissociation constant of formic acid is 1.8 x 10-4.
[conjugate base ]
pH = pKa + log
[acid ]
[0.52]
pH = -log (1.8 x 10-4) + log
[0.30]
pH = 3.7 + 0.24
pH = 3.94
Calculate the pH of a 0.30 M NH3 and 0.36 M NH4 buffer system. Ka of the acid is 5.6 x 10-10
[conjugate base ]
pH = pKa + log
[acid ]

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[0.30]
pH = -log (5.6 x 10-10) + log
[0.36]
pH = 9.25 + 0.0.08
pH = 9.33

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REFERENCES

CALIBO, C., A. ACABAL, J. G. JANSALIN, A. ACABAL, O. CORALES, E. QUEVEDO, M. P.

LORETO, A. RAMAL, F. SALAS, E. LANDERITO, and D. A. VARRON. 2010. Laboratory
manual in Chemistry 11: General Chemistry. Revised Ed. Visayas State University, Visca,
Baybay City.

CHANG, R. 2010. Chemistry, 10th ed. McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

SMITH, J. 2011. Organic Chemistry, 3rd ed.

USC Chemistry Review Center. 2016. Chemistry Review Manual.

WHITTEN, K., DAVIS, R., PECK, M. L. and G. STANLEY. 2010. Chemistry, 9th ed.

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Name: ______________________________ Section: ________________________________

Date Received: _______________________ Date Submitted: _________________________
Score: ____________
Instructions: Answer the following problems by showing a step-wise solution and enclosed in a box the
final answer.
1. Write the balanced equation for the dissociation of each of the following Bronsted-Lowry acids
in water:
a. H2SO4
b. HSO4-
c. H3O+
d. NH4+

2. What is the conjugate acid of each of the following Bronsted-Lowry bases?

a. HCO3-
b. CO22-
c. OH-
d. H2PO4-

3. What is the conjugate base of each of the following Bronsted-Lowry acids?

a. H3PO4
b. HSO4-
c. HS-
d. NH4+

4. Classify each of the salts as acidic, basic, or neutral. Show balanced chemical reaction.
a. KBr
b. NaNO2
c. NH4Br
d. NH4F

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5. Determine the pH of the following solutions:

a. 1 x 10-3 M HCl
b. 1 x 10-5 M HNO3
c. 1 x 10-4 M NaOH
d. 1.0 x 10-2 M KOH

6. The pH of a solution is measured and determined to be 7.52. What is the hydronium ion
concentration? What is the hydroxide ion concentration? Is the solution acidic or basic?

7. The pH of 0.10 mol/L HOCl is 4.27. Calculate the Ka of hypochlorous acid.

8. What is the pH after the addition of 20.0 mL of 0.050 M NaOH to 80.0 mL of the 0.30 M NH 3
and 0.36 M NH4Cl buffer solution?

9. Calculate the pH of a buffer system containing 1.0 M CH3COOH and 1 M CH3COONa. What is
the pH of the buffer system after the addition of 0.10 mole of gaseous HCl to 1.0 L of the
solution? Assume that the volume of the solution does not change when the HCl is added.

10. Create a research report about “Maintaining the pH of the Blood”. Follow the previous format of
the report.

General Chemistry I