Introduction to acid-base chemistry A Chem1 Reference Text Stephen K. Lower Simon Fraser University
Contents
1 Acids 2 1.1 Acids and the hydrogen ion ...... 2
2 Bases 3
3 Neutralization 4
4 Dissociation of water 4
5 The pH scale 5
6 Titration 6 6.1 Titration curves ...... 7 6.2 Finding the equivalence point: indicators ...... 8
7 The proton donor-acceptor concept of acids and bases 8 7.1 The hydronium ion ...... 9 7.2 Acid strengths and the role of water ...... 11 7.3 Autoprotolysis ...... 12
8 Types of acids and bases 14 8.1 Hydrides as acids and bases ...... 14 Ammonia ...... 15 8.2 Hydroxy compounds as acids and bases ...... 16 8.3 Metal–OH compounds ...... 16 8.4 –OH compounds of the nonmetals ...... 16 8.5 Organic acids ...... 16 8.6 Amines and organic bases ...... 17 8.7 Oxides as acids and bases ...... 17 8.8 Acid anhydrides ...... 18 8.9 Amphoteric oxides and hydroxides ...... 18 8.10 Salts ...... 18 8.11 Metal cations ...... 19 1 Acids
The concepts of an acid, a base, and a salt are ancient ones that modern chemical science has adopted and re ned. Our treatment of the subject at this stage will be mainly qualitative, emphasizing the de nitions and fundamental ideas associated with acids and bases. The quantitative treatment of acid- base equilibrium systems is treated in another unit.
1 Acids
The term acid was rst used in the seventeenth century; it comes from the Latin root ac-, meaning “sharp”, as in acetum, vinegar. Acids have long been recognized as a distinctive class of compounds whose aqueous solutions exhibit the following properties: