Eman Salah Abdel Fattah
11 C
The term acid, in fact, comes from the Latin term acere, which means "sour". An acid is a
substance that reacts with a base.
Acid is characterized by having sharp sour taste, reacting with metals, such as calcium and zinc, and
bases, such as sodium Carbonate ( Na2CO3 ). Aqueous acids have a pH of less than 7, and turn
blue litmus paper red. Chemicals or substances having the property of an acid are said to be acidic.
Common examples of acids include acetic acid (in vinegar), sulfuric acid (used in car
batteries), tartaric acid (used in baking), Citric acid (in Lemon), and ascorbic acid (in Orange). This
shows that acids can be solutions, liquids, or solids. Gases such as hydrogen chloride can be acids
as well.
There are three common definitions of an acid:
Arrhenius acid: a substance that increases the concentration of the hydronium ion, H3O+, when
dissolved in water.
This definition comes from the equilibrium dissociation of water into hydronium
and hydroxide (OH−) ions.
H2O(l) + H2O(l) H3O+(aq) + OH−(aq)
Brønsted acid: is a species that donates a proton to a Brønsted-Lowry base.
Brønsted-Lowry acid-base theory has several advantages over Arrhenius theory. Consider the following
reactions of acetic acid (CH3COOH), the organic acid that gives vinegar its characteristic taste:
Both theories easily describe the first reaction: CH 3COOH acts as an Arrhenius acid because it acts as a
source of H3O+ when dissolved in water, and it acts as a Brønsted acid by donating a proton to water. In the
second example CH3COOH undergoes the same transformation, in this case donating a proton to ammonia
(NH3), but cannot be described using the Arrhenius definition of an acid because the reaction does not
produce hydronium ion.
Lewis acid: is a species that accepts a pair of electrons from another species; in other words, it
is an electron pair acceptor.
According to classical naming system, acids are named according to their anions. That ionic suffix
is dropped and replaced with a new suffix (and sometimes prefix), according to the table below. For
example, HCl has chloride as its anion, so the -ide suffix makes it take the form hydrochloric acid.
Anion Anion Acid Acid Example
prefix suffix prefix suffix
per ate per ic acid perchloric
acid (HClO4)
ate ic acid chloric acid (HClO3)
ite ous acid chlorous acid (HClO2)
hypo ite hypo ous acid hypochlorous
acid (HClO)
ide hydro ic acid hydrochloric
acid (HCl)
The strength of an acid refers to its ability or tendency to lose a proton. A strong acid is one that
completely dissociates in water.
Examples of strong acids are hydrochloric acid (HCl), hydroiodic acid (HI), hydrobromic
acid (HBr), perchloric acid (HClO4), nitric acid (HNO3) and sulfuric acid(H2SO4). In water each of these
essentially ionizes 100%. The stronger an acid is, the more easily it loses a proton, H+.
While weak acids are acid that partially dissociate in water.
Examples of weak acids are acetic acid (CH3COOH), Hydrocyanic acid (HCN), Hydrofloric acid (HF),
Nitrous acid (HN02), and Sulfurous acid (H2SO3).
Neutralization is the reaction between an acid and a base, producing a salt and neutralized base
Like in the figure below:
Aci Wate
Base Salt
d r
NaO NaC
HCl + H2O +
H l
HBr + KOH H2O + KBr
Also you can neutralize a strong acid with a weak base, getting a weak acidic salt
E.g: HCl(aq) + NH3(aq) → NH4Cl
So it is wrong when we say that neutralization should result in a solution with pH 7.0.
There are numerous uses for acids:
Acids are often used to remove rust and other corrosion from metals in a process known
as pickling. They may be used as an electrolyte in a wet cell battery, such as sulfuric acid in
a car battery.
Strong acids, sulfuric acid in particular, are widely used in mineral processing. For example,
phosphate minerals react with sulfuric acid to produce phosphoric acid for the production of
phosphate fertilizers, and zinc is produced by dissolving zinc oxide into sulfuric acid, purifying
the solution and electrowinning.
In the chemical industry, acids react in neutralization reactions to produce salts. For
example, nitric acid reacts with ammonia to produce ammonium nitrate, a fertilizer.
Additionally, carboxylic acidscan be esterified with alcohols, to produce esters.
Acids are used as additives to drinks and foods, as they alter their taste and serve as
preservatives. Phosphoric acid, for example, is a component of cola drinks. Acetic acid is used
in day to day life as vinegar. Carbonic acid is an important part of some cola drinks and soda.
Citric acid is used as a preservative in sauces and pickles.
Tartaric acid is an important component of some commonly used foods like unripened mangoes
and tamarind. Natural fruits and vegetables also contain acids. Citric acid is present in oranges,
lemon and other citrus fruits. Oxalic acid is present in tomatoes, spinach, and especially
in carambola and rhubarb; rhubarb leaves and unripe carambolas are toxic because of high
concentrations of oxalic acid.
Ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) is an essential vitamin required in our body and is present in such
foods as amla, lemon, citrus fruits, and guava.
Certain acids are used as drugs. Acetylsalicylic acid (Aspirin) is used as a pain killer and for
bringing down fevers.
Acids play very important roles in the human body. The hydrochloric acid present in our
stomach aids in digestion by breaking down large and complex food molecules. Amino acids
are required for synthesis of proteins required for growth and repair of our body tissues. Fatty
acids are also required for growth and repair of body tissues. Nucleic acids are important for the
manufacturing of DNA, RNA and transmission of characters to offspring through genes.
Carbonic acid is important for maintenance of pH equilibrium in the body.
Acids are used as catalysts in industrial and organic chemistry; for example, sulfuric acid is
used in very large quantities in the alkylation process to produce gasoline. Strong acids, such as
sulfuric, phosphoric and hydrochloric acids also effect dehydration and condensation reactions.
In biochemistry, many enzymes employ acid catalysis.