Sha Tin Methodist College Chapter 14 – Study notes Part I
Form 4 Chemistry Introduction to acids and alkalis
Name: ___________________ Class: ( )
1. Common acids in daily life
Acids and alkalis are closely related to our daily life. Acids are characterized by their
______________ taste. Acids are commonly found in foods, drinks and seasonings.
The following table lists out some daily examples that contain acids:
Example Acid
Soft drinks
Vinegar and tomato sauce
Dairy products such as yoghurt
Citrus fruits such as oranges and
grapefruits
Some household cleaners such as toilet
cleaner and drain cleaner
_____________________________(________), ______________________(______) and
_____________________________(__________) are commonly used in the laboratory.
These acids are generally called ___________________ as they are extracted from minerals
in the past. We should handle acids with care as they are _________________ and
_________________, especially when acids are ________________________.
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Sha Tin Methodist College Chapter 14 – Study notes Part I
Form 4 Chemistry Introduction to acids and alkalis
2. Characteristics of Acids
____________ acids are commonly used in the school laboratory. Acids exhibit some
common characteristics and have _____________ chemical reactions.
1. All acids have a __________ taste, but we should never taste any acids in the laboratory.
2. Despite a simple molecular structure, Acids conduct electricity when they are ________
__________________as aqueous solutions of acids contain ______________________
and thus, acids are ______________________.
3. Effect on litmus:
Litmus is a common indicator to tell whether the substance is acidic or alkaline. There
are TWO forms of litmus in the laboratory, they are: 1. Litmus ______________ and
litmus _________________. Acid turns _________ litmus paper ___________ and vice
versa.
Alkali turns red litmus paper blue
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Sha Tin Methodist College Chapter 14 – Study notes Part I
Form 4 Chemistry Introduction to acids and alkalis
3. Typical Chemical Reactions of Acids
1. Reaction with metals
From the previous topic, we have learnt that metals that are at a ______________
position than copper in the reactivity series of metals react with acids to give _________
and _______________.
Less reactive metals do not react with dilute acids. For instance, ____________ ,
_____________ and _________________.
General word equation:
metal + acid → salt + hydrogen
For example:
Mg(s) + 2HCl(aq) → MgCl2(aq) + H2(g)
Fe(s) + 2HCl(aq) → FeCl2(aq) + H2(g)
Mg(s) + 2HNO3(aq) → Mg(NO3)2(aq) + H2(g)
(very dilute)
Classwork 1: Write the ionic equation of the reaction of iron and dilute H2SO4.
Ans:
Notice that ONLY very dilute nitric acid reacts with metals and give salt and
hydrogen. Nitric acid exhibits _______________ property if the concentration
becomes higher. Dilute and concentrated nitric acid react with metals in another
reaction pathway, called ____________ reaction.
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Sha Tin Methodist College Chapter 14 – Study notes Part I
Form 4 Chemistry Introduction to acids and alkalis
Classwork 2:
1. Hydrogen can be prepared by adding a magnesium ribbon to dilute hydrochloric acid
using the set-up shown in the diagram below.
Delivery tube
H2(g)
water
Mg(s) trough
HCl(aq)
(a) State TWO expected observations in the conical flask, and write the chemical equation for
the reaction involved.
(b) The method of collecting hydrogen shown in the above diagram is called ‘displacement of
water’. Suggest why hydrogen can be collected using this method.
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Sha Tin Methodist College Chapter 14 – Study notes Part I
Form 4 Chemistry Introduction to acids and alkalis
2. Salt can be prepared by various reactions. One common method for salt preparation is
reacting a metal with acids. For instance, iron(II) chloride can be prepared by reacting
dilute hydrochloric acid with iron. The solid salt is then obtained from the reaction
mixture by evaporation. Is it possible to prepare calcium sulphate by reacting calcium
with dilute sulphuric acid? Explain briefly.
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Sha Tin Methodist College Chapter 14 – Study notes Part I
Form 4 Chemistry Introduction to acids and alkalis
2. Reaction with metal hydroxides and metal oxides
Dilute acids react with both metal hydroxides and metal oxides to form __________ and
______________.
General chemical equation:
Metal hydroxide + acid → salt + water
Metal oxide + acid → salt + water
Example 1:
Dilute hydrochloric acid reacts with calcium hydroxide to form ______________________
and ____________.
Chemical Equation:
Ionic Equation:
HCl(aq)
Ca(OH)2(s)
CaCl2(aq)
CaCl2(aq) is a colourless solution because both ______ and _______ ions are colourless.
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Sha Tin Methodist College Chapter 14 – Study notes Part I
Form 4 Chemistry Introduction to acids and alkalis
Example 2:
Dilute sulphuric acid reacts with copper(II) hoxide to form ______________________ and
____________.
Chemical Equation:
Ionic Equation:
H2SO4(aq
CuO(s)
CuSO4(aq)
CuO is a black solid and the aqueous solution of copper(II) sulphate is ___________ in colour
due to the presence of aqueous _______ ions.
Classwork 3:
For each of the following experiments, write the (i) chemical equation, and (ii) ionic
equations for the reaction involved.
1. Adding dilute hydrochloric acid to aluminium metal
2. Adding dilute sulphuric acid to sodium hydroxide solution
3. Adding solid iron(II) hydroxide to dilute hydrochloric acid
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Sha Tin Methodist College Chapter 14 – Study notes Part I
Form 4 Chemistry Introduction to acids and alkalis
3. Reaction with metal carbonate and metal hydrogencarbonate
Dilute acids react with both metal carbonate and metal hydrogencarbonate to form
__________, ____________ and _____________________.
General chemical equation:
Metal carbonate + acid → salt + carbon dioxide + water
Metal hydrogencarbonate + acid → salt + carbon dioxide + water
Examples:
Reaction of calcium carbonate and dilute hydrochloric acid
Chemical equation:
Ionic equation:
Observations:
5** Skill Corner:
Action of acid on carbonate and hydrogencarbonate ions is a common chemical test for
the presence of carbonate and hydrogencarbonate ions. The liberation of colourless gas
bubbles that turns limewater milky is the characteristic observation.
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Sha Tin Methodist College Chapter 14 – Study notes Part I
Form 4 Chemistry Introduction to acids and alkalis
4. Relationship of acidic properties and hydrogen ions
Common worldwide misconception among chemistry students:
All acidic substances are acid
Acids are acidic substances, acidic substances are not necessarily acids.
In junior science and Form 3 Chemistry, we have gone through the basic concepts of acids
and alkalis.
Acid is defined as _______________ compounds that _________________ in water to
give ________________ ions as the ________________________________.
4.1 Role of water in exhibiting the characteristic properties of acids
Referring to the definition of an acid, it is not difficult to understand that water plays an
important role in demonstrating acidic properties of acids. The following table compares the
actions of solid citric acid and aqueous citric acid on different tests.
Test solid citric acid aqueous citric acid
Blue litmus paper No observable change Changes from blue to red
Electrical conductivity Do NOT conduct electricity Conducts electricity
anhydrous Na2CO3 No observable change Colourless gas bubbles evolve
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Sha Tin Methodist College Chapter 14 – Study notes Part I
Form 4 Chemistry Introduction to acids and alkalis
The above comparisons demonstrate that for citric acid to exhibit its acidic properties,
__________ must be present.
Classwork 4:
A student performed an experiment to study the role of water in exhibiting the acidic
properties of hydrogen chloride. The student prepared an aqueous solution of hydrogen
chloride using the set-up shown in the diagram below.
Concentrated
sulphuric acid
tap funnel
Inverted funnel just
Flat-bottomed under the water surface
flask
water
Solid sodium chloride
Sodium chloride reacts with concentrated sulphuric acid to give hydrogen chloride as shown:
NaCl(s) + H2SO4(aq) → NaHSO4(s) + HCl(g)
(a) State a potential hazard of using concentrated sulphuric acid.
(b) Suggest TWO reasons of using a tap funnel for adding the acid to solid sodium chloride.
(c) Given that hydrogen chloride is very soluble in water, suggest a reason of using an
inverted funnel in dissolving the hydrogen chloride.
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Sha Tin Methodist College Chapter 14 – Study notes Part I
Form 4 Chemistry Introduction to acids and alkalis
(d) Solutions P and Q were prepared by dissolving hydrogen chloride in water and
methylbenzene (an organic solvent) respectively. The student added a piece of zinc metal
and a piece of dry blue litmus paper respectively to the samples of each solution. The
results were tabulated below.
(i) What were the gas bubbles formed from the reaction between zinc metal and Solution
P? Write the chemical equation for the reaction involved.
(ii) State another observable change that can be seen after a piece of zinc metal was added
to Solution P.
(iii) What property of Solution P is shown from its action on dry blue litmus paper?
(iv) By comparing the results of Solutions P and Q in the two tests, what conclusions can
you draw about the acidic properties of hydrogen chloride in methylbenzene?
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Sha Tin Methodist College Chapter 14 – Study notes Part I
Form 4 Chemistry Introduction to acids and alkalis
4.2 Ionization of acid in water
Pure acid is a covalent compound with a ___________________________ structure. Pure
acid are discrete molecules in nature and does not contain any mobile ions. However, when it
is dissolved in water, acid molecules ____________ in water to form hydrogen ions and the
corresponding anions. For example, Nitric acid molecules ionize in water to give H+ ions
and NO3- ions (corresponding anion). The process in which acid molecules become ions in
water in called ______________________. The _______________________ formed are
responsible for all the acidic properties.
Similarly, when citric acid crystals are dissolved in water, they ionize partially in water to
give hydrogen ions as the only cation. The aqueous solution of citric acid contains
________________, __________________, ________________________ and a very little
amount of _________________________.
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Sha Tin Methodist College Chapter 14 – Study notes Part I
Form 4 Chemistry Introduction to acids and alkalis
More examples:
Ionization of hydrogen chloride
HCl(g) → H+(aq) + OH-(aq)
Ionization of ethanoic acid
CH3COOH(l) CH3COO-(aq) + H+(aq)
Unlike citric acid, hydrogen chloride, sulphuric acid, nitric acid and etc. ionize
__________________ in water. In hydrochloric acid, all HCl molecules ionize completely in
water to give hydrogen ions and chloride ions and thus, the solution only contain the above
ions but no HCl molecules.
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