ANSWER KEY CHAPTER 4 GRADE7

1. Which of the following sets of substances contains acids?

Answer: (d) Curd and vinegar

Both curd and vinegar contain acids (lactic acid and acetic acid respectively).

2. The correct way of making a solution of acid in water is to

Answer: (b) add acid to water

Always add acid to water slowly, not the other way around, to avoid splashing due to
the exothermic reaction.

3. Turmeric is a natural indicator. On adding its paste to acid and base separately,
which colours would be observed?
Answer: (b) Yellow in acid and red in base

Turmeric turns red in basic solutions and remains yellow in acidic ones.

4. A solution changes the colour of turmeric indicator from yellow to red. The
solution is
Answer: (a) Basic

Only bases turn turmeric red.

5. A substance ‘X’ is found in the milk of magnesia which on testing with red litmus
turned blue. What is ‘X’?
Answer: (b) A base

Milk of magnesia contains magnesium hydroxide, a base. It turns red litmus blue.
6. Phenolphthalein is a synthetic indicator and its colours in acidic and basic
solutions respectively are
Answer: (d) colourless and pink

Colourless in acid, pink in base.

7. What caused the colour to disappear from the solution?

Answer:(b) The mixture turned into a neutral solution.

When more acid is added after the base, neutralization occurs, removing the pink
colour (phenolphthalein is colourless in acid).

8. Neutralisation reaction is a
Answer:(d) chemical change that cannot be reversed

It’s an irreversible chemical change between an acid and a base.

9. Products of a neutralization reaction are always

Answer: (c) a salt and water

Standard result of acid + base → salt + water.

[Link] the soil is too basic, plants do not grow well in it. To improve its quality,
what must be added to the soil?
Answer: (a) Organic matter

Organic matter helps reduce basicity (acts as a mild acid).

[Link] most likely caused the monument to turn yellowish?

Answer: (c) Acid rain

Acid rain reacts with marble (calcium carbonate), causing discoloration

 Fill in the blanks:

1. Curd, lemon juice, orange juice and vinegar taste sour.

These substances taste sour because they contain acids.
 The chemical nature of such substances is acidic.
The word acid comes from the Latin word acere which means sour.

2. Special types of substances are used to test whether a substance is acidic or basic.
These substances are known as indicators.
The indicators change their colour when added to a solution containing an acidic or a
basic substance.
Turmeric, litmus and China rose are some of the naturally occurring indicators.

3. The most commonly used natural indicator is litmus.

It is extracted from lichens.
It has a purple colour in distilled water.
When added to an acidic solution, it turns red, and when added to a basic solution, it
turns blue.

4. The solutions which do not change the colour of either red or blue litmus are known as
neutral solutions.

5. The reaction between an acid and a base is known as neutralisation.

Salt, water and heat are produced in this process with the evolution of heat.

6. When an ant bites, it injects formic acid into the skin.

The effect of the acid can be neutralized by rubbing moist baking soda or calamine,
which contains zinc carbonate.

 Give two examples for each of the following:

1. Acids: Lemon juice, Vinegar

2. Bases: Baking soda, Milk of magnesia

3. Salts: Sodium chloride, Copper sulphate

 Correct the following statements and rewrite them:

1. The solutions which do not change the colour of either red litmus or blue litmus are
known as acidic solutions.
-The solutions which do not change the colour of either red litmus or blue litmus are
known as neutral solutions.

2. Bases turn blue litmus into red.

-Bases turn red litmus into blue.
3. Lactic acid is found in spinach.
- Lactic acid is found in curd.

4. Acid + Base → Salt + Metal

- Acid + Base → Salt + Water

5. Our stomach contains dilute sulphuric acid.

- Our stomach contains dilute hydrochloric acid.

 Answer the following questions in short:

1. Name the acid present in lemon juice:

Citric acid

2. Why does a turmeric stain on a white shirt turn red when it is washed with soap?
Because soap is basic in nature and turmeric turns red in a basic solution.

3. Define pH scale. Who introduced the concept of pH?

pH scale measures the acidity or basicity of a solution.
The concept of pH was introduced by Søren Sørensen.

4. Write the effect of China rose petals on acidic and basic solutions:
China rose turns dark pink (magenta) in acidic solution and green in basic solution.

5. Define neutralization reaction:

It is a chemical reaction in which an acid reacts with a base to form salt and water.

6. Name three types of salts. Give one example of each type of salt:

o Neutral salt – Sodium chloride (NaCl)

o Acidic salt – Ammonium Chloride (NH4CL)

o Basic salt – Sodium carbonate (Na₂CO₃)

 Answer the following questions in detail:

1. List down properties of acids:

o They taste sour.

o They turn blue litmus red.

o They react with metals to produce hydrogen gas.

 o They have a pH less than 7.

o They conduct electricity in solution.

2. List down properties of bases:

o They taste bitter and feel soapy.

o They turn red litmus blue.

o They react with acids to form salt and water.

o They have a pH more than 7.

o They can be corrosive.

3. List down properties of neutral substances:

o They are neither acidic nor basic.

o They do not change the colour of litmus.

o Their pH is 7.

o Examples include pure water and common salt solution.

4. What is litmus?
Litmus is a natural indicator extracted from lichens.
It is used to test whether a substance is acidic or basic.
It is purple in neutral, turns red in acid, and blue in base.

5. Explain two neutralization reactions related to daily life situations:

o Ant bite: Formic acid is injected into the skin; rubbing with baking soda (a
base) neutralizes it.

o Indigestion: Excess hydrochloric acid in the stomach is neutralized by antacids

like milk of magnesia (base).

Learning beyond the textbook

❖ Give two examples for each of the following.

1. Natural indicators:
→ Turmeric, Litmus
2. Synthetic indicators:
→ Phenolphthalein, Methyl orange

❖ Assertion and Reason Questions

1. Assertion (A): Lemons are sour to taste.

Reason (R): Lemons contain acid.
→ (a) Both assertion and reason are correct, and the reason is the correct explanation of the
assertion.

2. Assertion (A): Bases turn red litmus blue.

Reason (R): Bases have soapy texture.
→ (b) Both assertion and reason are correct, but the reason is not the correct explanation of
the assertion.

3. Assertion (A): Neutralisation is a physical change.

Reason (R): Chemical changes are reversible.
→ (d) Assertion is wrong, but reason is correct.
✦ Neutralisation is a chemical change, and chemical changes are usually not reversible.

4. Assertion (A): Blue litmus turns red in the presence of vinegar.

Reason (R): Vinegar is acidic in nature.
→ (a) Both assertion and reason are correct, and the reason is the correct explanation of the
assertion.

5. Assertion (A): Distilled water is considered as a neutral substance.

Reason (R): Distilled water is neither acidic nor basic in nature.
→ (a) Both assertion and reason are correct, and the reason is the correct explanation of the
assertion.

6. Assertion (A): In a neutralization reaction, heat is always produced, or evolved.

Reason (R): The evolved heat decreases the temperature of the reaction mixture.
→ (c) Assertion is correct, but the reason is wrong.
✦ Heat increases the temperature, not decreases it.

7. Assertion (A): Calamine lotion is applied on the skin when an ant bites.
Reason (R): When an ant bites, it injects a basic substance into our skin.
→ (c) Assertion is correct, but the reason is wrong.
✦ Ant injects formic acid (acidic), not a base.

❖ Short Answer Questions

1. Hydrochloric acid in the stomach helps in the digestion of food and kills harmful bacteria,
so it is useful in small amounts.
If excess acid is produced, we should take antacids like milk of magnesia to neutralise the
extra acid.

2. The acid present in tomato is oxalic acid.

3. Acid rain is rainwater that contains harmful acids like sulphuric acid and nitric acid
formed due to pollution from factories and vehicles.

Lets Revise

SECTION – A

 Choose the correct option. (5 x 1 = 5M)

1. (c) Tartaric acid

2. (b) Yellow in acid and red in base

3. (a) Ammonia

4. (c)
P – 4 (Baking soda – In fire extinguisher)
Q – 1 (Bleaching powder – As a disinfectant)
 R – 2 (Milk of magnesia – As an antacid)
S – 3 (Vinegar – In wasp’s bite treatment)

5. (c) Acid rain

 Fill in the blanks. (4 x 1 = 4M)

6. chemical

7. neutral

8. sour

9. formic acid

 Give two examples for each of the following. (3 x 1 = 3M)

[Link] – Sodium chloride, Baking soda

[Link] indicators – Phenolphthalein, Methyl orange

[Link] – Hydrochloric acid, Acetic acid

 Assertion and Reason. (3 x 1 = 3M)

13.(c) – Assertion is correct, but reason is wrong.

14.(a) – Both assertion and reason are correct, and reason explains the assertion.

15.(d) – Assertion is wrong, but reason is correct. (Bases turn red litmus blue, not blue
litmus red)

 Correct the following statements. (2 x 1 = 2M)

 16. Ammonia is acidic in nature.
Ammonia is basic in nature.

17. Lactic acid is found in spinach.

Lactic acid is found in curd.

SECTION – B

 Short Answer Questions. (2 x 1 = 2M)

[Link] scale is a scale used to measure how acidic or basic a substance is. It ranges from
0 to 14.

[Link] of salts:

 Neutral salt – Sodium chloride

 Basic salt – Sodium carbonate

 Long Answer Questions. (3 x 2 = 6M)

[Link] is litmus?
Litmus is a natural indicator obtained from lichens. It is used to test whether a
substance is acidic or basic. It turns red in acid and blue in base.

[Link] of bases:

 They are bitter in taste.

 They feel soapy to touch.

 They turn red litmus blue.

 They are corrosive in strong form.

[Link] is acid rain?
Acid rain is rain that contains harmful acids such as sulphuric acid and nitric acid,
formed due to air pollution. It damages buildings, soil, water bodies, and living
organisms.

SECTION – C

 Case Study. (5 x 1 = 5M)

23.

(a) The color change showed that lemon juice is acidic (turned blue litmus red) and soap
solution is basic (turned red litmus blue).
(b) Salt water was neutral because it did not change the color of either litmus paper.
(c) Neutralization is a reaction between an acid and a base to form salt and water.
(d) They used red and blue litmus paper and a natural indicator (hibiscus) to test
liquids.
(e) It helps in identifying harmful substances, treating acidity, and is useful in
agriculture, medicine, and industry