Interactive Chemistry Worksheets for Students |
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Acids are substances that taste sour. eg. citric acid. They turn blue litmus paper pink. There are many different types of acids and most are too corrosive to taste. The word corrosive means it will eat away.
Acids always produce salts when they react with chemical substances.
Acid | Chemical formula | Salt produced | Ion |
Hydrochloric acid | HCl | chloride salt | Cl- |
Nitric acid | HNO3 | nitrate salt | NO3- |
Sulfuric acid | H2SO4 | sulfate salt | SO42- |
Acetic acid | CH3COOH | acetate salt | CH3COO- |
Phosphoric acid | H3PO4 | phosphate salt | PO43- |
Acids produce hydrogen or H+ ions in solution.
Bases are substances that taste bitter. eg. Bi-carb of soda. They turn pink litmus paper blue. Soluble bases produce alkali solutions. These solutions are caustic and will burn or corrode organic matter.
Common bases include metal hydroxides, metal oxides and ammonia.
Base | Chemical formula |
Sodium hydroxide | NaOH |
Potassium hydroxide | KOH |
Ammonia | NH3 |
Calcium oxide | CaO |
Magnesium hydroxide | Mg(OH)2 |
Sodium oxide | Na2O |
Bases produce hydroxide or OH- ions in solution.
An alkali is a strong soluble base. All of the Group I metals or alkali metals produce alkali solutions on reaction with water. eg. lithium hydroxide LiOH, sodium hydroxide NaOH and potassium hydroxide KOH.
Alkali solutions are caustic in nature and should be handled with care. Dilute alkali solutions are slippery to touch.
Acids and bases react with each other to produce salt and water.
This type of chemical reaction is called a neutralization reaction.
Acid + Base Salt + Water
A common neutralization reaction carried out in high school is the reaction of hydrochloric acid with sodium hydroxide.
Hydrochloric acid + sodium hydroxide Sodium chloride + Water
HCl + NaOH NaCl + H2O
All neutralization reactions are also exothermic meaning heat is given off. Hydrogen ions produced from the acid react with hydroxide ions produced from the base. Energy is released as new chemical bonds are formed as water is produced.
Hydrogen ion + hydroxide ion water
H+(aq)+ OH-(aq) H2O(l)
Click on the chemical name to show the chemical formula of the acid or base.
Note: An alkali is a soluble base and is caustic in nature.
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Acids
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Acids
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Alkalis
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Alkalis
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Bases
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Can you identify the salt produced from each acid base combination?
Click on the salt link to show or hide the chemical name.
Sodium hydroxide
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Potassium hydroxide
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Magnesium hydroxide
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Calcium oxide
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sodium chloride |
potassium chloride |
magnesium chloride |
calcium chloride |
Hydrochloric acid
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sodium nitrate |
potassium nitrate |
magnesium nitrate |
calcium nitrate |
Nitric acid
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sodium acetate |
potassium acetate |
magnesium acetate |
calcium acetate |
Acetic acid
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sodium sulfate |
potassium sulfate |
magnesium sulfate |
calcium sulfate |
Sulfuric acid
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sodium phosphate |
potassium phosphate |
magnesium phosphate |
calcium phosphate |
Phosphoric acid
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1. Sulfuric acid + sodium hydroxide sodium sulfate + water
H2SO4 + 2NaOH Na2SO4 + H2O
2. Nitric acid + potassium hydroxide potassium nitrate + water
HNO3 + KOH KNO3 + H2O
3. Sodium hydroxide + nitric acid sodium nitrate + water
NaOH + HNO3 NaNO3 + H2O
4. Hydrochloric acid + magnesium hydroxide magnesium chloride + water
2HCl + Mg(OH)2 MgCl2 + 2H2O
5. Potassium hydroxide + acetic acid potassium acetate + water
KOH + CH3COOH CH3COOK + H2O
1. Sodium oxide + nitric acid sodium nitrate + water
Na2O + 2HNO3 2NaNO3 + H2O
2. Hydrochloric acid + calcium oxide calcium chloride + water
2HCl + CaO CaCl2 + H2O
3. Potassium oxide + phosphoric acid potassium phosphate + water
3K2O + 2H3PO4 2K3PO4 + 3H2O
4. Aluminum oxide + hydrochloric acid aluminum chloride + water
Al2O3 + 6HCl 2AlCl3 + 3H2O
5. Barium oxide + hydrochloric acid barium chloride + water
BaO + 2HCl BaCl2 + 2H2O
Identification of salts from a variety of acid reactions
Balancing of neutralization reactions