IGCSE Double Award Extended Coordinated Science
Chemistry 8.1& 8.2 & 8.3 - Acids, Bases, and Salts
Acids and Bases
You need to know what acids and bases are
Chemicals can be sorted on a scale called the pH scale.
- pH scale shows how acidic or basic a chemical is.
pH scale ranges from 1 - 14 and:
- pH of 7 is called neutral - neither acidic nor basic (e.g. water)
- pH below 7 is called acidic - these chemicals are acids (e.g. vinegar, hydrochloric acid)
- pH above 7 is called basic - these chemicals are bases (e.g. ammonia, sodium bicarbonate)
There are two main methods of finding out the pH of a chemical.
1. Using the universal indicator
- This method is the most effective, as it can show the exact pH by the colour of the indicator
- Simply dropping the universal indicator into the chemical will show a colour change
- From pH 1 of red to pH 14 of purple
2. Using a litmus paper
- Litmus is also a pH indicator, and a paper containing litmus is called litmus paper
- Unlike the universal indicator, it does not show the exact pH,
- It only shows whether it is acidic or basic
- There are two litmus papers, red litmus paper and blue litmus paper.
- If the litmus changes colour from red to blue, the tested chemical is basic
- If the litmus changes colour from blue to red, the tested chemical is acidic.
Acid-Base Reactions
You should know these typical acids:
- Hydrochloric acid : HCl
- Sulphuric acid : H2SO4
- Nitric acid : HNO3
- Notice the acids are all anions with hydrogen ion(s) attached to it.
- e.g. hydrochloric acid is an hydrogen ion attached to a chloride ion : H+ Cl-
You should know the types of bases:
- Metal (e.g. sodium Na, calcium Ca)
- Metal oxide (e.g. magnesium oxide MgO, iron oxide Fe2O3)
- Metal hydroxide (e.g. sodium hydroxide NaOH, potassium hydroxide KOH)
- Metal carbonate (e.g. calcium carbonate CaCO3, potassium carbonate K2 CO3)
If a base is in aqueous state, meaning dissolved in water,
- we call it an alkali. (e.g. aqueous sodium hydroxide NaOH(aq))
You need to know the characteristic reactions that happen between acids and bases.
- When an acid reacts with a base, the reaction is called a neutralisation reaction
- The products of the reaction are neutral.
- Acid-base reactions produce a salt, a salt is:
- An ionic compound that is formed by the neutralisation reaction of an acid and a base.
There are four acid-base reactions you need to know the results and be able to deduce products to:
Acid + metal
- Acid + metal -> salt + hydrogen
- e.g. hydrochloric acid + potassium -> potassium chloride + h ydrogen
- 2 HCl + 2 K -> 2 KCl + H2
- We can see that the metal and the anion of the acid combines to form the salt
- The remaining hydrogen ion from the acid is released as hydrogen gas.
Acid + metal oxide
- Acid + metal oxide-> salt + water
- e.g. sulphuric acid + copper (II) oxide -> copper (II) sulphate + water
- H2SO4 + CuO -> CuSO4 + H2O
- We can see that the metal ion in metal oxide and the anion of the acid combines to form the salt
- And that hydrogen ion from the acid and the oxide ion combines to form water.
Acid + metal hydroxide
- Acid + metal hydroxide-> salt + water
- e.g. nitric acid + sodium hydroxide -> sodium nitrate + water
- HNO3 + NaOH -> NaNO3 + H2O
- We can see metal hydroxides go through a very similar process as metal oxides.
- Except the hydrogen ion from the acid and the hydroxide ion combines to water.
Acid + metal carbonate
- Acid + metal carbonate -> salt + water + carbon dioxide
- e.g. hydrochloric acid + calcium carbonate -> calcium chloride + water + carbon dioxide
- 2 HCl + CaCO3 -> CaCl2 + H2O + CO2
- We can see that the metal and the anion of the acid combines to form the salt
- The carbonate ion combines with the hydrogen ions from the acid, forms carbon dioxide and water.
Oxides
You need to know that in general:
- Metal oxides are basic. (copper (II) oxide, sodium oxide)
- And will react with acids
- Non-metal oxides are acidic. (carbon dioxide, sulphur trioxide)
- And will react with bases.
However, some oxides can be neutral.
- E.g. nitrogen monoxide (NO), carbon monoxide (CO)
- These will not react with acids or bases.
Making Salts
You need to know how to make a salt.
- you will need to know the separation and purification techniques from Unit C2.1.
To make a salt, you can simply carry out the above reaction according to the salt you need.
- e.g. to make sodium chloride, use an acid with chloride ions, (HCl), and any base with sodium.
However, in the above reactions, the produced salt will be dissolved in water (since they are ionic compounds)
- We need to separate the dissolved salt from the water to get a solid crystal of the salt.
Method: (with copper (II) sulphate as an example)
1. Place the acid (sulphuric acid) in a beaker
2. Slowly add the base (in this case using copper (II) oxide)
3. As you add the base, keep mixing the solution.
- Keep adding the base until no more of the base can dissolve in the solution
- This solution is now saturated - solution has reached maximum amount of dissolved particles.
4. Now in the beaker will be metal salt(aq) +
water + undissolved base(s).
5. Using a filter paper and a funnel, filter the undissolved base out
- Collect the filtrate (aqueous metal salt + water
6. The water now must be evaporated to collect the solid metal salt
7. Pour the filtrate into an evaporating dish
- This increase of surface area allows faster evaporation
8. Slowly heat the solution to speed up the evaporation process - until only little bit of liquid is left
- If you continue heating, it will form crystals, but the crystals will be very small
9. To make large crystals, remove the heat, and let it evaporate slowly.
The syllabus says you should be able to, (SO check if you can):
- Describe neutrality and relative acidity and alkalinity in terms of pH (whole numbers only) measured using
full-range indicator and litmus.
- Describe the characteristic reactions of acids with metals, bases (including alkalis) and carbonates.
- Describe and explain the importance of controlling acidity in the environment (air, water and soil).
- Classify oxides as either acidic or basic, related to the metallic and non-metallic character of the other
element in the oxide.
- Further classify some other oxides as neutral, given relevant information.
- Describe the preparation, separation and purification of salts using techniques selected from section C2.1
and the reactions specified in section C8.1.
- Suggest a method of making a given salt from suitable starting materials, given appropriate information.