Sha Tin Methodist College Chapter 14 – Study notes Part I

Form 4 Chemistry Introduction to acids and alkalis

Name: ___________________ Class: ( )

1. Common acids in daily life

Acids and alkalis are closely related to our daily life. Acids are characterized by their

______________ taste. Acids are commonly found in foods, drinks and seasonings.

The following table lists out some daily examples that contain acids:
Example Acid

Soft drinks

Vinegar and tomato sauce

Dairy products such as yoghurt

Citrus fruits such as oranges and

grapefruits
Some household cleaners such as toilet
cleaner and drain cleaner

_____________________________(________), ______________________(______) and

_____________________________(__________) are commonly used in the laboratory.

These acids are generally called ___________________ as they are extracted from minerals

in the past. We should handle acids with care as they are _________________ and

_________________, especially when acids are ________________________.

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Sha Tin Methodist College Chapter 14 – Study notes Part I
Form 4 Chemistry Introduction to acids and alkalis

2. Characteristics of Acids

____________ acids are commonly used in the school laboratory. Acids exhibit some

common characteristics and have _____________ chemical reactions.

1. All acids have a __________ taste, but we should never taste any acids in the laboratory.

2. Despite a simple molecular structure, Acids conduct electricity when they are ________

__________________as aqueous solutions of acids contain ______________________

and thus, acids are ______________________.

3. Effect on litmus:

Litmus is a common indicator to tell whether the substance is acidic or alkaline. There

are TWO forms of litmus in the laboratory, they are: 1. Litmus ______________ and

litmus _________________. Acid turns _________ litmus paper ___________ and vice

versa.

Alkali turns red litmus paper blue

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Sha Tin Methodist College Chapter 14 – Study notes Part I
Form 4 Chemistry Introduction to acids and alkalis

3. Typical Chemical Reactions of Acids

1. Reaction with metals

From the previous topic, we have learnt that metals that are at a ______________

position than copper in the reactivity series of metals react with acids to give _________

and _______________.

Less reactive metals do not react with dilute acids. For instance, ____________ ,

_____________ and _________________.

General word equation:

metal + acid → salt + hydrogen

For example:

Mg(s) + 2HCl(aq) → MgCl2(aq) + H2(g)

Fe(s) + 2HCl(aq) → FeCl2(aq) + H2(g)

Mg(s) + 2HNO3(aq) → Mg(NO3)2(aq) + H2(g)

(very dilute)

Classwork 1: Write the ionic equation of the reaction of iron and dilute H2SO4.

Ans:

 Notice that ONLY very dilute nitric acid reacts with metals and give salt and

hydrogen. Nitric acid exhibits _______________ property if the concentration

becomes higher. Dilute and concentrated nitric acid react with metals in another

reaction pathway, called ____________ reaction.

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 Sha Tin Methodist College Chapter 14 – Study notes Part I
Form 4 Chemistry Introduction to acids and alkalis

Classwork 2:

1. Hydrogen can be prepared by adding a magnesium ribbon to dilute hydrochloric acid

using the set-up shown in the diagram below.

Delivery tube

H2(g)

water

Mg(s) trough
HCl(aq)

(a) State TWO expected observations in the conical flask, and write the chemical equation for

the reaction involved.

(b) The method of collecting hydrogen shown in the above diagram is called ‘displacement of

water’. Suggest why hydrogen can be collected using this method.

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Sha Tin Methodist College Chapter 14 – Study notes Part I
Form 4 Chemistry Introduction to acids and alkalis

2. Salt can be prepared by various reactions. One common method for salt preparation is

reacting a metal with acids. For instance, iron(II) chloride can be prepared by reacting

dilute hydrochloric acid with iron. The solid salt is then obtained from the reaction

mixture by evaporation. Is it possible to prepare calcium sulphate by reacting calcium

with dilute sulphuric acid? Explain briefly.

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Sha Tin Methodist College Chapter 14 – Study notes Part I
Form 4 Chemistry Introduction to acids and alkalis

2. Reaction with metal hydroxides and metal oxides

Dilute acids react with both metal hydroxides and metal oxides to form __________ and

______________.

General chemical equation:

Metal hydroxide + acid → salt + water

Metal oxide + acid → salt + water

Example 1:

Dilute hydrochloric acid reacts with calcium hydroxide to form ______________________

and ____________.

Chemical Equation:

Ionic Equation:

HCl(aq)
Ca(OH)2(s)

CaCl2(aq)

CaCl2(aq) is a colourless solution because both ______ and _______ ions are colourless.

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Sha Tin Methodist College Chapter 14 – Study notes Part I
Form 4 Chemistry Introduction to acids and alkalis

Example 2:

Dilute sulphuric acid reacts with copper(II) hoxide to form ______________________ and

____________.

Chemical Equation:

Ionic Equation:

H2SO4(aq
CuO(s)
CuSO4(aq)

CuO is a black solid and the aqueous solution of copper(II) sulphate is ___________ in colour

due to the presence of aqueous _______ ions.

Classwork 3:

For each of the following experiments, write the (i) chemical equation, and (ii) ionic

equations for the reaction involved.

1. Adding dilute hydrochloric acid to aluminium metal

2. Adding dilute sulphuric acid to sodium hydroxide solution

3. Adding solid iron(II) hydroxide to dilute hydrochloric acid

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Sha Tin Methodist College Chapter 14 – Study notes Part I
Form 4 Chemistry Introduction to acids and alkalis

3. Reaction with metal carbonate and metal hydrogencarbonate

Dilute acids react with both metal carbonate and metal hydrogencarbonate to form

__________, ____________ and _____________________.

General chemical equation:

Metal carbonate + acid → salt + carbon dioxide + water

Metal hydrogencarbonate + acid → salt + carbon dioxide + water

Examples:

Reaction of calcium carbonate and dilute hydrochloric acid

Chemical equation:

Ionic equation:

Observations:

 5** Skill Corner:

Action of acid on carbonate and hydrogencarbonate ions is a common chemical test for
the presence of carbonate and hydrogencarbonate ions. The liberation of colourless gas
bubbles that turns limewater milky is the characteristic observation.

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Sha Tin Methodist College Chapter 14 – Study notes Part I
Form 4 Chemistry Introduction to acids and alkalis

4. Relationship of acidic properties and hydrogen ions

Common worldwide misconception among chemistry students:

 All acidic substances are acid

 Acids are acidic substances, acidic substances are not necessarily acids.
In junior science and Form 3 Chemistry, we have gone through the basic concepts of acids

and alkalis.

Acid is defined as _______________ compounds that _________________ in water to

give ________________ ions as the ________________________________.

4.1 Role of water in exhibiting the characteristic properties of acids

Referring to the definition of an acid, it is not difficult to understand that water plays an

important role in demonstrating acidic properties of acids. The following table compares the

actions of solid citric acid and aqueous citric acid on different tests.

Test solid citric acid aqueous citric acid

Blue litmus paper No observable change Changes from blue to red

Electrical conductivity Do NOT conduct electricity Conducts electricity

anhydrous Na2CO3 No observable change Colourless gas bubbles evolve

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Sha Tin Methodist College Chapter 14 – Study notes Part I
Form 4 Chemistry Introduction to acids and alkalis

 The above comparisons demonstrate that for citric acid to exhibit its acidic properties,

__________ must be present.

Classwork 4:

A student performed an experiment to study the role of water in exhibiting the acidic
properties of hydrogen chloride. The student prepared an aqueous solution of hydrogen
chloride using the set-up shown in the diagram below.

Concentrated
sulphuric acid
tap funnel

Inverted funnel just

Flat-bottomed under the water surface
flask

water
Solid sodium chloride

Sodium chloride reacts with concentrated sulphuric acid to give hydrogen chloride as shown:
NaCl(s) + H2SO4(aq) → NaHSO4(s) + HCl(g)
(a) State a potential hazard of using concentrated sulphuric acid.

(b) Suggest TWO reasons of using a tap funnel for adding the acid to solid sodium chloride.

(c) Given that hydrogen chloride is very soluble in water, suggest a reason of using an
inverted funnel in dissolving the hydrogen chloride.

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Sha Tin Methodist College Chapter 14 – Study notes Part I
Form 4 Chemistry Introduction to acids and alkalis

(d) Solutions P and Q were prepared by dissolving hydrogen chloride in water and
methylbenzene (an organic solvent) respectively. The student added a piece of zinc metal
and a piece of dry blue litmus paper respectively to the samples of each solution. The
results were tabulated below.

(i) What were the gas bubbles formed from the reaction between zinc metal and Solution
P? Write the chemical equation for the reaction involved.

(ii) State another observable change that can be seen after a piece of zinc metal was added
to Solution P.

(iii) What property of Solution P is shown from its action on dry blue litmus paper?

(iv) By comparing the results of Solutions P and Q in the two tests, what conclusions can
you draw about the acidic properties of hydrogen chloride in methylbenzene?

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Sha Tin Methodist College Chapter 14 – Study notes Part I
Form 4 Chemistry Introduction to acids and alkalis

4.2 Ionization of acid in water

Pure acid is a covalent compound with a ___________________________ structure. Pure

acid are discrete molecules in nature and does not contain any mobile ions. However, when it

is dissolved in water, acid molecules ____________ in water to form hydrogen ions and the

corresponding anions. For example, Nitric acid molecules ionize in water to give H+ ions

and NO3- ions (corresponding anion). The process in which acid molecules become ions in

water in called ______________________. The _______________________ formed are

responsible for all the acidic properties.

Similarly, when citric acid crystals are dissolved in water, they ionize partially in water to

give hydrogen ions as the only cation. The aqueous solution of citric acid contains

________________, __________________, ________________________ and a very little

amount of _________________________.

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Sha Tin Methodist College Chapter 14 – Study notes Part I
Form 4 Chemistry Introduction to acids and alkalis

More examples:

Ionization of hydrogen chloride

HCl(g) → H+(aq) + OH-(aq)

Ionization of ethanoic acid

CH3COOH(l) CH3COO-(aq) + H+(aq)

Unlike citric acid, hydrogen chloride, sulphuric acid, nitric acid and etc. ionize

__________________ in water. In hydrochloric acid, all HCl molecules ionize completely in

water to give hydrogen ions and chloride ions and thus, the solution only contain the above

ions but no HCl molecules.

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