Acids and Bases

Home > Chemistry > Acids and Bases

This topic covers the properties of acids and bases, including pH, pOH, buffers, and titrations.

Properties of Acids: This topic covers the physical and chemical properties of acids.
Properties of Bases: This topic covers the physical and chemical properties of bases.
pH Scale: This topic covers the pH scale and how it is used to measure the acidity or basicity of a substance.
Acid-Base Reactions: This topic covers the chemical reactions that occur between acids and bases.
Bronsted-Lowry Theory: This topic covers the Bronsted-Lowry theory of acids and bases, which defines an acid as a proton donor and a base as a proton acceptor.
Lewis Theory: This topic covers the Lewis theory of acids and bases, which defines an acid as an electron acceptor and a base as an electron donor.
Neutralization Reactions: This topic covers the chemical reactions that occur when an acid and a base are combined to form a salt and water.
Hydrolysis: This topic covers the chemical reaction in which a salt reacts with water to produce an acid and a base.
Strong acids: These are acids that readily donate protons (hydrogen ions) in aqueous solutions, and dissociate completely. Examples include hydrochloric acid (HCl), sulfuric acid (H2SO4), and nitric acid (HNO3).
Weak acids: These are acids that do not dissociate completely in aqueous solutions, and have a lower tendency to donate protons. Examples include acetic acid (CH3COOH), carbonic acid (H2CO3), and formic acid (HCOOH).
Organic acids: These are acids that contain a carbon atom. Examples include citric acid, lactic acid, and malic acid.
Inorganic acids: These are acids that do not contain a carbon atom. Examples include hydrochloric acid (HCl), sulfuric acid (H2SO4), and phosphoric acid (H3PO4).
Lewis acids: These are acids that can accept an electron pair from a donor molecule. Examples include boron trifluoride (BF3), aluminium chloride (AlCl3), and iron(III) oxide (Fe2O3).
Strong bases: These are bases that readily accept protons (hydrogen ions) in aqueous solutions, and dissociate completely. Examples include sodium hydroxide (NaOH), potassium hydroxide (KOH), and calcium hydroxide (Ca(OH)2).
Weak bases: These are bases that do not dissociate completely in aqueous solutions, and have a lower tendency to accept protons. Examples include ammonia (NH3), pyridine (C5H5N), and methylamine (CH3NH2).
Organic bases: These are bases that contain a nitrogen atom. Examples include pyridine, caffeine, and histidine.
Inorganic bases: These are bases that do not contain a nitrogen atom. Examples include hydroxide ion (OH-), oxide ion (O2-), and carbonate ion (CO32-).
Lewis bases: These are bases that can donate an electron pair to an acceptor molecule. Examples include ammonia (NH3), water (H2O), and pyridine (C5H5N).
- "In chemistry, pH (pee-AYCH), also referred to as acidity, historically denotes 'potential of hydrogen' (or 'power of hydrogen')."
- "It is a scale used to specify the acidity or basicity of an aqueous solution."
- "Acidic solutions are measured to have lower pH values than basic or alkaline solutions."
- "The pH scale is logarithmic and inversely indicates the activity of hydrogen ions in the solution."
- "pH = -log(aH+) ≈ -log([H+])"
- "At 25 °C (77°F), solutions with a pH less than 7 are acidic."
- "Solutions with a pH greater than 7 are basic."
- "Solutions with a pH of 7 at 25 °C are neutral (i.e. have the same concentration of H+ ions as OH− ions, i.e. the same as pure water)."
- "The neutral value of the pH depends on the temperature and is lower than 7 if the temperature increases above 25 °C."
- "The pH range is commonly given as zero to 14, but a pH value can be less than 0 for very concentrated strong acids or greater than 14 for very concentrated strong bases."
- "Primary pH standard values are determined using a concentration cell with transference by measuring the potential difference between a hydrogen electrode and a standard electrode such as the silver chloride electrode."
- "The pH of aqueous solutions can be measured with a glass electrode and a pH meter or a color-changing indicator."
- "Measurements of pH are important in chemistry, agronomy, medicine, water treatment, and many other applications."
- "It is a scale used to specify the acidity or basicity of an aqueous solution."
- "The pH scale is logarithmic and inversely indicates the activity of hydrogen ions in the solution."
- "Measurements of pH are important in... water treatment..."
- "The pH of aqueous solutions can be measured with a glass electrode and a pH meter or a color-changing indicator."
- "Acidic solutions (solutions with higher concentrations of hydrogen (H+) ions)..."
- "Measurements of pH are important in... agronomy..."
- "[H+] is the equilibrium molar concentration (mol/L) of H+ in the solution."