what is acid and bases
Answers
Acids and bases are popular chemicals which interact with each other resulting in the formation of salt and water. The word acid comes from a Latin word ‘acere’ which means ‘sour’.
In our everyday lives, we use many compounds which scientists call acids. The orange or grapefruit juice you drink for breakfast contains citric acid (also known as Vitamin C). When milk turns sour, it contains lactic acid.
What are Acids and Bases?
An acid is any hydrogen-containing substance that is capable of donating a proton (hydrogen ion) to another substance. A base is a molecule or ion able to accept a hydrogen ion from an acid.
Acidic substances are usually identified by their sour taste. An acid is basically a molecule which can donate an H+ ion and can remain energetically favourable after a loss of H+. Acids are known to turn blue litmus red.
Bases, on the other hand, are characterized by a bitter taste and a slippery texture. A base that can be dissolved in water is referred to as an alkali. When these substances chemically react with acids, they yield salts. Bases are known to turn red litmus blue.
In our everyday lives, we use many compounds which scientists call acids. The orange or grapefruit juice you drink for breakfast contains citric acid (also known as Vitamin C). When milk turns sour, it contains lactic acid. The vinegar used in salad dressing contains acetic acid. According to this a chemical bond is considered as being made up of an acid-base combination. The properties of a molecule, therefore, can be understood by dividing it into acid and base fragments.
Acidic substances are usually identified by their sour taste. An acid is basically a molecule which can donate an H+ ion and can remain energetically favourable after a loss of H+. Acids are known to turn blue litmus red.
Bases, on the other hand, are characterized by a bitter taste and a slippery texture. A base that can be dissolved in water is referred to as an alkali. When these substances chemically react with acids, they yield salts. Bases are known to turn red litmus blue.
pH of Acids and Bases
In order to find the numeric value of the level of acidity or basicity of a substance, the pH scale (wherein pH stands for ‘potential of hydrogen’) can be used. The pH scale is the most common and trusted way to measure how acidic or basic a substance is. A pH scale measure can vary from 0 to 14, where 0 is the most acidic and 14 is the most basic a substance can be.
Another way to check if a substance is acidic or basic is to use litmus paper. There are two types of litmus paper available that can be used to identify acids and bases – red litmus paper and blue litmus paper. Blue litmus paper turns red under acidic conditions and red litmus paper turns blue under basic or alkaline conditions.
Answer:
An acid–base reaction is a chemical reaction that occurs between an acid and a base. It can be used to determine pH.
Example
- HCl (aq)+NaOH (aq)→H2O (l)+NaCl (aq) 2HBr (aq)+Mg(OH)2(aq)→2H2O (l)+MgBr2(aq) 3HCl (aq)+Al(OH)3(aq)→3H2O (l)+AlCl3(aq)