Acid-Base Flashcards
What is a Bronsted-Lowry acid?
Substance that can donate a proton
What is Bronsted-Lowry Base?
Substance that accepts a proton
What is a conjugate acid-base pair?
Pair of reactants/products that are linked to each other by the transfer of a proton
HA + B ⇌ A- + BH+
E.g
CH3COOH (aq) + H2O (l) ⇌CH3COO- (aq) + H3O+ (aq)
ACID. BASE. Con. BASE Con. ACID
HA donates proton to form its conjugate base, A- (CH3COO-)
B accepts PROTON from HA to form its conjugate acid, BH+
(Substance with bigger Ka will act as acid)
Calculate pH and [H+]?
PH = -log[H+]
[H+] = 10^-pH
What is meant by ‘the pH scale is logarithmic scale with base 10’?
Each value is 10x the value below it
E.g pH 5 is 10x more acidic than pH 6
What is a strong acid and examples?
Strong acid is an acid that dissociates completely in aqueous solutions
E.g HCl - hydrochloric acid
HNO3 - nitric acid
H2SO4 - sulfuric acid
HA —> H+ + A-
HA= Strong acid
H+ ions = formed from dissociation
IRREVERSIBLE REACTION (equilibrium shifted right)
In a monoprotic strong acid ————————-
Also what assumption is made when strong acids ionise?
The conc of H+ ions = conc of strong acid
No. Hydrogen ions formed from ionisation of water is very small relative to [H+] due to ionisation of strong acid so NEGLECTED
What are weak acids? E.g?
Partially dissociate when dissolved in water, giving an equilibrium mixture
E.g most organic acids (ethanoic acid)
HCN - hydrocyanic acid
H2S - hydrogen sulfide
H2CO3 - carbonic acid
HA —> H+ + A-
Equilibrium is LEFT / equilibrium is ESTABLISHED
Due to PARTIAL DISSOCIATION , more molecules of HA (weak acid) than H+ and A- ions
Why is the enthalpy of neurtralsation of strong acids and strong bases very similar?
Acid/bases are fully ionised and the reaction is:
H+ + OH- —> H2O
- in each strong acid-strong bases reaction
Why is the enthalpy of neutralisation less exothermic for weak acids and weak bases?
Only partially ionise so energy needed to fully ionise them —> LESS EXOTHERMIC
- in this example:
energy needed to break O-H bond to release a H+
CH3COOH —> CH3COO- + H+ - shows partial ionisation
What is Ka and example of an expression?
Ka= acid dissociation constant (mol dm-3)
- indicate extent of dissociation
HIGHER Ka = more dissociated = stronger acid
Ka = [H+] [A-] / [HA]
For weak acids as an equilibrium is established
When writing Ka expression for weak acids, what assumption is made?
Conc of H+ ions due to ionisation of water is NEGLIGIBLE
[H+]eqm = [A-]eqm as they have dissociated in a 1:1 ratio
Amount of dissociation of acid is small so we assume initial conc of undissociated acid has remained constant ( [HA]initial = [HA] equm)
So can simplify to Ka = [H+]^2/[HA]initial
What is ionic product of water , Kw and how is it derived?
Kc = [H+][OH-] / [H2O]
Rearranged to:
Kc x [H2O] = [H+][OH-]
Bc [H2O] is music bigger than conc of ions, we asssume value is constant and make it Kw
Kw = [H+(aq)][OH-(aq)]
Kw =1x10^-14 mol2dm-6
Relationship between Kw and pKw?
pKw = -logKw
Relationship between pKa and Ka?
pKa = -logKa
- used bc for weak acids, Ka are very small numbers so pKa easier to work with
(pKa values lie with 3 and 7, for weak acids)
For strong bases , the [OH-] is = to_________________
Conc of the base
Why is pure water/neutral solutions neutral?
[H+] = [OH-]
Using Kw = [H+][OH-] then when neutral :
Kw=[H+]^2 and [H+] = √Kw
At 25C , [H+] = √1×10^-14 = 1x10^-7
= pH 7
What is an acid base indicator?
Weak acid which dissociates to give an anion of a different colour
Weak acid HIn:
HIn ⇌ In- + H+
Colour1. Colour 2
Equilibrium will shift left/right due to Chatelier’s principle if acidity changes
- colour changes over a pH range
When is endpoint of a reaction reached?
When:
[HIn] = [In-]
And at this point if Ka = [H+][In-]/[HIn] , then:
Ka = [H+] OR pKa = pH
Best indicators for strong acid-strong base reactions?
PH changes from 4-10 ,so indicator must change colour in this range :
METHYL RED/PHENOLPHTHALEIN
Best indicator for weak acid-strong base reaction?
PH changes from 7 to 10 so:
PHENOLPHTHALEIN
Best indicator for STRONG ACID-WEAK BASE reactions?
Ph changes from 4 to 7 so:
METHYL RED
Can use METHYL ORANGE TOO
Best indicator for WEAK ACID -WEAK BASE reactions?
No sudden pH change so no suitable indicators for these titrations
- end point not easily determined
What is a buffer solution?
Solution where pH doesn’t change significantly if small amount of acid or alkali added to it
Buffer can consist of:
Weak acid - conjugate base
Weak base - conjugate acid