Chapter 14 Notes- Acids and Bases Bronsted- Lowry Theory In 1923, Bronsted and Lowry independently described reactions

with acids as involving the donation of a hydrogen atom or proton. Bronsted-Lowry theory states that: an acid is a substance that donates an H+ to a base. base is a substance that accepts an H+ from an acid. Subsequently, acids are proton donors and bases are proton acceptors. The transfer of the H+ explains why acids and bases react together.

Conjugate Acid-Bases Pairs (reversible joining of an acid-base pair)

Hydrogen chloride acts as an acid donating a proton (H+) to the water, which acts as a base. Where two species differ by a proton (or H+) they are referred to as acid-base conjugate pairs. The pairs here are:o HCl / Cl- conjugate acid / conjugate base o H2O / H3O+ conjugate base / conjugate acid Common Conjugate Acid-Bases Pairs

What are the conjugate acid-base pairs for the above reaction?
o o

H2O / OH Na2CO3 / Na2HCO3+

Amphiprotic Substances An amphiprotic substance is one that can behave as either an acid or a base. Water is one such substance. If the solute is a stronger acid than the water, water will act as a base and accept a proton. If the solute is a stronger base than water then the water molecule will donate an H+, behaving as an acid.

Reactions of Amphiprotic Substances

Knowing the pH will identify the dominant reaction.

Strength of Acids and Bases

DO NOT CONFUSE ACID STRENGTH WITH CONCENTRATION.

Strength of Acids and Bases According to Bronsted-Lowry theory, the strength of an acid is determined by its ability to donate hydrogen ions to a base. The strength of a base is its ability to accept hydrogen ions from an acid. These both depend on whether or not the substances partially or completely ionise.

Strong Acids: Acids that ionise completely in water are referred to as strong acids. They dissolve completely so that no unreacted molecules remain. Examples: HCl, HNO3, H2SO4.

Weak Acids: Not all of the acid molecules ionise at once. For example, a 1M solution of acetic acid (vinegar/ethanoic acid) has <1% of ethanoate (acetate) ions in solution. The reaction is shown using reversible arrows to indicate the low ionisation rate/presence of ions. Examples: CH3COOH, H3PO4. Strong Bases:

Again, the strength of the base is determined by how completely it ionises in water. Relative to strong acids, there are fewer number of strong bases. Most strong bases are alkali hydroxides. Examples: NaOH, KOH.

Weak Bases Just like with weak acids, weak bases do not ionise completely in water. Examples: NH3, Ca(OH)2.

Acid & Base Strengths

Polyprotic Substances Polyprotic acids are acids that are capable of donating more than one proton. The structure of the acid and the number of hydrogen ions available for donation determine whether or not that can occur.

Acids, Bases and Neutral Solutions Water is amphiprotic, it can act as both an acid and a base. It undergoes self-ionisation to a very, very small extent enough for it to conduct electricity (JUST)! Only one molecule out of approximately 10 million water molecules is ionised (at 25oC).

pH Solution At 25oC, a solution is: acidic if [H3O+] > 10-7 and [OH-] < 10-7 neutral if [H3O+] = 10-7 [OH-] basic if [H3O+] < 10-7 and [OH-] > 10-7 [H3O+] x [OH-] = 10-14 M2 This is the ionic product. It remains constant for a particularly temperature. If [H3O+], [OH]; OR, If [H3O+], [OH]

Determine the concentration of [OH] at 25oC if the concentration of [H3O+] is: (a) 0.001 M (b) 5.7 109 M Determine the concentration of [H3O+] at 25oC if the concentration of [OH] is: (a) 1010 M (b) 1.1 105 M (c) 5.7 109 M Determine the concentration of [OH] and [H3O+] at 25oC for a 0.1 M solution of NaOH. Determine the concentration of [OH] and [H3O+] at 25oC for a 0.1 M solution of Ca(OH)2.

Calculating the pH of the solutions The pH scale is the most common way of referring to the acidity/alkalinity of a solution. Acidic: pH < 7 Neutral: pH = 7 Basic: pH > 7 pH is determined by... pH = -log10[H3O+] or [H3O+] = 10-pH A solution with pH of 2 has ten times as many H+ ions as one of pH of 3. It also has one-tenth the hydroxide ions. What is the concentration of hydronium ions and hydroxide ions in solutions with the following pH values? (a) 3 (b) 11.7 The pH of a cola drink is 3 and of black coffee 5. How many more times acidic is the cola than black coffee? Calculate the pH of each of the following mixtures: (a) 10 mL of 0.025 M HCl is diluted to 50 mL of solution. (b) 20 mL of 0.0050 M KOH is diluted to 500 mL of solution.

A solution of hydrochloric acid has a pH of 2. (a) What is the molar concentration of hydrogen ions in the solution? (b) What amount of hydrogen ions (in mol) would be present in 500 mL of this solution?