Chapter 13: Reactions in Water

Question 1

What are some common acids and their formulas?

Answer 1

Hydrochloric acid, HCl
Nitric acid, HNO3
Sulfuric acid, HSO4
Ethanoic acid, CH3COOH

Question 2

What are the common properties of acids?

Answer 2

Usually taste sour, are corrosive, molecular in structure, dissolve in water to produce an electrolyte, turn litmus red, and are neutralised by bases.

Question 3

What are some common bases and their formulas?

Answer 3

Ammonia, NH3
Sodium hydroxide, NaOH
Sodium carbonate, Na2CO3

Question 4

What are the common properties of bases?

Answer 4

Usually taste bitter, may be corrosive, feel slippery, turn litmus blue, are electrolytes, generally ionic substances.

Question 5

What is an “alkali”?

Answer 5

An alkali is a base that is soluble in water.

Question 6

What does the Bronsted-Lowry theory define acids and bases as?

Answer 6

An acid is a substance that donates a proton (H+ ion) to another substance.
A base is a substance that accepts a proton (H+ ion) from another substance.

Question 7

What is “ionisation”?

Answer 7

Ionisation is a reaction in which a substance reacts with another substance to form ions.

Question 8

What is “hydrolysis”?

Answer 8

Hydrolysis is a reaction in which a substance reacts with water to form ions.

Question 9

What is “dissociation”?

Answer 9

Dissociation occurs when ionic bases dissolve in water. They separate into their constituent ions. Since they do not actually produce ions, it is not considered ionisation or hydrolysis.

Question 10

What is “neutralisation”?

Answer 10

A neutralisation reaction is the process of an acid reacting with a base, and produces a salt and water.

Question 11

What are conjugate acid-base pairs?

Answer 11

When an acid and a base react, the original acid becomes a conjugate base, and vice versa. These two species differ by one proton, H+ ion.

Question 12

What are polyprotic acids?

Answer 12

Polyprotic acids can donate more than one proton per molecule of acid. Diprotic acids can donate two protons, and triprotic acids can donate three.
Monoprotic acids, such as HCl, can only donate one proton.

Question 13

What are amphiprotic substances? What is an ampholyte?

Answer 13

Amphiprotic substances are those that can act as either an acid or base, donating or accepting protons. Ampholytes are ionic amphiprotic substances.