NOTES – Acids, Bases and pH, Chapter 14

Terms:
Acid dissociation constant, Ka the equilibrium constant for a reaction in which a proton is removed
from an acid by the H2O to form a conjugate base and H30+
Acidic oxide a covalent oxide that dissolves in water to give an acidic solution
Amine: an organic base derived from ammonia in which one or more of the
hydrogen atoms are replaced by organic groups
Amphoteric substance a substance that can behave either as an acid or a base
Basic oxide an ionic oxide that dissolves in water to produce a basic solution
Carboxyl group the –COOH group in an organic acid
Conjugate base what remains of an acid molecule after a proton is lost
Conjugate acid the species formed when a proton is added to a base
Conjugate acid-base pair two species related to each other by the donating and accepting of a
single proton
Diprotic acid an acid having two acidic protons (ex: sulfuric acid)
Hydronium Ion the H30+ ion; a hydrated proton
Ion- product constant, (Kw) The equilibrium constant for the auto ionization of water; (K w)=
[H+][OH-] at 25 ºC. (Kw)= 1.0x10-14
Lewis Acid an electron-pair acceptor
Lewis base an electron-pair donor
Lime-soda process a water-softening method in which lime and soda ash are added to
water to remove calcium and magnesium ions by precipitation
Monoprotic acid an acid with one acidic proton
Oxyacids an acid in which the acidic proton is attached to an oxygen atom
Organic acid an acid with a carbon-atom backbone; often contains the carboxyl
group
pH scale a log scale based on 10 and equal to –log[H+]; a convenient way to
represent solution acidity that ranges from 0 - 7(neutral/H2O) - 14
Major species the components present in relatively large amounts in a solution
Percent dissociation the ratio of the amount of a substance that is dissociated at equilibrium
to the initial concentration of the substance in the solution multiplied by
100.
Polyprotic Acid an acid with more than one acidic proton. It dissociates in a stepwise
manner, one proton as a time
Salt an ionic compound
Slaked lime calcium hydroxide
Strong acid an acid that completely dissociates to produce an H+ ion and the
conjugate base
Strong bases a metal hydroxide salt that completely dissociates into its ions in water
Triprotic Acid three protons that dissociate (ex: Phosphoric acid)
Weak acid an acid that dissociates only slightly in aqueous solutions
Weak base a base that reacts with water to produce hydroxide ions to only a slight
extent in aqueous solution.

Misc Concepts
I. Brønsted -Lowery
Acid- H+ donor (labile O-H bond)
Base- H+ acceptor (has lone e- pairs)
 NOTES – Acids, Bases and pH, Chapter 14

Ex: Brønsted -Lowery acid: HNO2

Brønsted -Lowery base: SO32-

II. Arrhenius
Acid- forms H3O+ ions in solution
Base- forms OH- ions in solution

III. Lewis
Acid- e- pair acceptor
Base- e- pair donor
Ex: BF3 + NH3 → BF3NH3
L.A. L.B.
Acceptor Donor

IV. Acid strength

Strong acid- 100% dissociates in water
HCl, HBr, HI, H2SO4, HNO3, HIO3, HClO4
Weak acid < 100% dissociates in water
Acid strength is based on strength of the bond
Stronger bond = weaker acid and weaker bond = stronger acid
Dissociation reaction: HA → H+ +A¯, if a strong acid then this is HA H+ +A¯
Acid dissociation constant: Ka = [H+][A¯]/[HA]

V. Base strength
Strong bases- release OH- into solution
100% dissociates in aqueous solution
Group 1 and some of group 2 (Ca, Ba) hydroxide
Ex: NaOH, KOH
Weak bases- metal OH’s that don’t fully dissolve covalent molecules (typically amines, C6H5NH2) that
create OH- in solution
Dissociation rxn: B + H2O → BH+ +OH¯, if a weak base then this is B + H2O BH+ +OH¯
The stronger base is more dissociated, the more dissociated the more products, the more products the
higher the Kb so Kb reflects base strength

VI. Water as an acid and a base

Amphoteric- can be either an acid or a base
Water autodissociates to form proton and hydroxide each at a concentration of 10-7 M. Typically this
amount is negligible when added to the amount of proton or hydroxide generated from an acid or a
base. However in dilute solutions of acids/bases (<10-7 M ) have a pH based on the autodissociation of
water. (10-7 M, so pH = 7)
Autodissociation of water: 2H2O H+ + OH-
Kw = [H+][OH¯] if [H+] = [OH-] = 1.0 x 10-7 M
Kw = ( 1.0 x 10-7)(1.0 x 10-7) (H2O is a pure liquid, so don’t include it)
Kw = 1.0 x 10-14
Kw = Ka Kb This expression can be used to calculate the dissociation constants of conjugate pairs

VII The pH Scale

The pH scale is a scale from 1-14 to represent solution acidity or basicity
It is a log scale based on 10, where pH = -log [H+]
i. pH changes by 1 for every power of 10 change in [H+]
ii. pH decreases as [H+] increases because pH = -log [H+]
Consider the log form of the expression: Kw = [H+][OH-]
 NOTES – Acids, Bases and pH, Chapter 14
Kw = [H+][OH-]
log Kw = log [H+] + log [OH-]
- log Kw = -log [H+] - log [OH-])

Therefore: pKw = p[H+] + p[OH-])

Since Kw = 1.0 x 10-14 ,

pKw = -log (1.0 x 10-14 ) = 14.00
Thus, for all aqueous solutions at 25°C, pH, and pOH add up to 14.00
PH + pOH = 14.00

ex: Calculate pH and pOH for each of the following solutions at 25°C
a. 1.0 X 10 –3 M OH–
Kw 1.0 x 10 -14
[H+] = = = 1.0 x 10 –11 M
[OH ] 1.0 x 10 -3
pH = -log [H+] = -log (1.0 x 10 –11 ) = 11.00
pOH = -log [OH-] = -log (1.0 x 10 –3 ) = 3.00

b. 1.0 M H+
Kw 1.0 x 10 -14
[OH-] = = = 1.0 x 10 –14 M
[H ] 1.0
pH = -log [H+] = -log (1.0) = 0.00
pOH = -log [OH-] = -log (1.0 x 10 –14 ) = 14.00

VIII Calculating the pH of Acidic Solutions

a. Mainly deals with the solution components and their chemistry, so it is important to identify and
focus on the major species
i. 1.0 M HCl is actually H+ and Cl- ions
b. Major species are those that are present in large amounts
i. In the solution 1.0 M HCl, the major species are H+, Cl-, and H2O
c. Strong acids are those that dissolve (nearly) completely in solution

EX: Calculate the pH of 0.10 M HNO3

1. List major species: H+, NO 3 , and H2O
2. Consider the major source of acid: HNO3
3. [H+] = 0.10 M and pH = -log(0.01) = 1.00
d. Weak Acid Equilibrium Problems
i. List the major species in solution
ii. Choose the species that produce H+ ions, and write balanced equations for those rxns
iii. Using the values of the equilibrium constants (K) for the rxns you have written, decide
which is the major producer of H+ ions
iv. Write the equilibrium expression for the dominant equilibrium
v. Make an ICE table to find the change in equilibrium in terms of “x”
vi. Solve for x
vii. Check to see if approximation is valid (5%) rule
viii. Calculate [H+] and pH

EX: see pg. 673 for an in-depth example of this type of problem

e. The pH of a Mixture of Weak Acids

i. Sometimes a solution may contain two weak acids of different strengths
EX: Calculate the pH of a solution that contains 1.00 M HCN (Ka = 6.2 x 10-10) and 5.00 M
HNO2 (Ka = 4.0 x 10-4). (p 676)
 NOTES – Acids, Bases and pH, Chapter 14
1. Major species: HCN, HNO2 , and H2O
2. All rxns produce H+:
a. HCN H+ + CN- Ka = 6.2 x 10-10
b. HNO2 H+ + NO2 Ka = 4.0 x 10-4
c. H2O H+ + OH- Ka = 1.0 x 10-14
3. Because of the Ka values, it can be determined that HNO2 is the major producer
of H+ ions
4. Write the equilibrium equation for HNO2:
[ H ][NO2 ]
a. Ka = 4.0 x 10-4 =
[ HNO2 ]
5. Make an ICE table to find x = [H+]
a. HNO2 H+ + NO2
Initial: 5.00 0 0
Change: -x +x +x
Equilibrium: 5.00 – x x x

b. Solve for x {let (5.00 - x = 5.00)} using the

[ H ][NO2 ]
Ka = 4.0 X 10-4 =
[ HNO2 ]
6. Therefore [H+] = x = 4.5 X 10-2 M and pH = 1.35

f. Percent Dissociation
i. Used to find the amount of weak acid that has dissociated in reaching equilibrium in
aqueous solution
amount dissociated (mol/L)
ii. Percent dissociation = 100 %
initial concentration (mol/L)

EX: Refer to previous example and find the percent dissociation of HNO 2 where [H+] = x = 4.5 x 10-2
M and pH = 1.35

[H ]
The percent dissociation is: 100% = .9%
[HNO 2 ]

IX. Bases
According to the Bronsted and Lowry model, and the Arrhenius concept, a base both accepts
protons and yields OH- ions. This can be shown by the dissociation of NaOH:
NaOH  Na+(aq) + OH- (aq)
The dissociation of a base can also be represented by B + H20 BH + OH-
The neutralization of an acid and base will always result in water and a salt.
Acid Base Water Salt
HCl + NaOH  H2O + NaCl
a. Calculating pH of Strong Bases
Since strong, assume 100% dissociation. Calculate pOH, then substract from 14 to get the
pH

EX: Calculate the pH of a 0.050 M solution of KOH.

Because [OH-] =0.050 M:
pOH = - log (0.050) = 1.30
pH = 14.00 - 1.30 = 12.70
 NOTES – Acids, Bases and pH, Chapter 14
b. Calculating pH of Weak Bases
Weak bases are only partially ionized in solution while strong bases are completely ionized, so
need to determine the hydroxide concentration via equilibrium, then calculate the pOH and then
subtract from 14 to get pH

EX: Calculate the pH for a 15.0M solution of NH 3 (Kb = 1.8 x 10-5)

This reaction includes NH3, H20, NH4 and OH-; H2O is negligible
Kb= [NH4+][OH-]
[NH3]
Use an ice table to find the values to plug into the equation:
Kb= [x][x]
[15.0-x]
x2
1.8 x 10-5 =
15 .0
Therefore:
[OH-] = 1.6 x 10-2
14
Kw 1.0 x10
[H+] = = 2
= 6.3 x 10-13
[OH ] 1.6 x10

pH= -log(6.3x10-13) = 12.20

X. Polyprotic Acids
Polyprotic acids have more than one proton that may be removed by reaction with a base. These acids
can be either be called diprotic or triprotic.
a. Diprotic Dissociation:H2CO3  H+ + HCO3-
b. Tripotic Dissociation: HCO3  H+ + CO32-

XI. The Effect of Structure on Acid-Base Properties

Such molecules as HF, which is a weak acid, does not dissociate in water because of its strong bond.
See tables 14.7 and 14.8 for information on bond strength and structures.

XII. Acid-Base Properties of Oxides

Acidic Oxides:
a. When a covalent oxide dissolves in water, an acidic solution forms
SO2 + H2O  H2SO3
Basic Oxides
b. The opposite is true for ionic oxides; a basic solution is created.
O2- + H2O  2OH-

XIII. The Lewis Acid-Base Model

Suggested by G. N. Lewis in the early 1920’s
i. Lewis Acid: electron-pair acceptor
ii. Lewis Base: electron-pair donor
Created because it covers many reactions that do not involve other types of acid/base relationships
See Table 14.10 as a reference:

Model Definition of Acid Definition of Base

Arrhenius H+ producer OH- producer
Brønsted-Lowry H+ donor H+ acceptor
Lewis Electron-pair acceptor Electron-pair donor