chemistry Flashcards
(8 cards)
acid and bases
When acid or bases go into water they break up into charged(ions) peices,and these ions let the solution have electricity.Thats what makes them a electrolyte.
ions=electrical charge
Acids
Acids – Key Points
Taste sour
Can dissolve metals, damage materials, and harm nature (like acid rain)
Release hydrogen ions (H⁺) when dissolved in water
Since hydrogen ions are just protons, acids are also called proton donors
When in water, acids split into:
H⁺ ions (the important acidic part)
Anions (negatively charged ions, less important)
H⁺ ions affect acidity in body fluids like stomach acid or blood
Strong vs. Weak Acids
Strong acids: Ionize completely — all molecules release H⁺ (e.g., HCl)
Weak acids: Ionize partially — only some molecules release H⁺ (e.g., acetic acid)
base
Taste bitter
Feel slippery
Are proton acceptors (they take in H⁺ ions instead of giving them away)
Hydroxides (OH⁻) are common inorganic bases
When bases dissolve in water, they ionize and release:
OH⁻ ions (the part that makes it a base)
Cations (positive ions)
Strong vs. Weak Bases
Strong bases fully release OH⁻ ions (example: NaOH)
Weak bases only release some OH⁻ ions (example: HCO₃⁻, bicarbonate in blood)
bases want to remove H+ from water while acid wants to put
acid and bases neutrualization
is when acid and base is mized togheter to make salt and water and neutrulize
the history of the ph scale
The relative concentration of hydrogen (and hydroxide) ions in various body fluids is measured in concentration units called pH (pe-āch) units. The pH scale, which was devised in 1909 by a Danish biochemist (and part-time beer brewer) named Sørensen, is based on the number of protons in solution.The pH scale measures how many hydrogen ions (H⁺) are present in a solution. These hydrogen ions are what make a substance acidic. So:
More H⁺ ions = lower pH = more acidic (like lemon juice)
Fewer H⁺ ions = higher pH = more basic/alkaline (like soap or bleach)
The PH range
The PH scale goes from 0-14
it measures how acidic or basic(alkaline) something is,Based on the concentration of H+ hydrogen ions.
7 means neutral there is Equal H⁺ and OH⁻ (like pure water)
lower then 7 is acidic.More H⁺ ions than OH⁻
higher then 7 is basic Fewer H⁺ ions than OH⁻
Example dont always need to look at:
Each 1-step change on the pH scale means the H⁺ concentration changes by 10 times:
pH 6 is 10x more acidic than pH 7.
pH 3 is 10 × 10 × 10 × 10 = 10,000x more acidic than pH 7.
pH 8 has 1/10 the H⁺ of pH 7 (so it’s more basic).
pH 12 has 1/100,000 the H⁺ of pH 7 (very basic!).
ph balance buffers in body
Living cells are very sensitive to small changes in pH.
To keep the pH balanced, the kidneys, lungs, and special chemicals called buffers work together.
Buffers include weak acids and weak bases, and they help prevent sudden changes in pH by absorbing extra hydrogen ions (H⁺) or hydroxide ions (OH⁻) when needed.
why blood ph is crucial in the body.
Because blood comes into close contact with nearly every body cell, regulation of blood pH is especially critical. Normally, blood pH varies in a narrow range, from 7.35 to 7.45. When blood pH changes more than a few tenths of a pH unit from these limits, death becomes a distinct possibility. Although we could give hundreds of examples to illustrate this point, we will provide just one very important one: When blood pH begins to dip into the acid range, the amount of life-sustaining oxygen that the hemoglobin in blood can carry to body cells decreases rapidly to dangerously low levels.
