Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM

Browse over 1 million classes created by top students, professors, publishers, and experts.


See full index

Degree Chemistry > Fundamentals on Chemistry: Acids and Bases > Flashcards

Fundamentals on Chemistry: Acids and Bases Flashcards

1
Q

Definition of an Arrhenius acid and base

A

An acid ionises in water to give H+ and anions

A base ionises in water to give OH- and cations

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

Spectator ions

A

Ions which do not partake in the reaction

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

Oxonium ion

A

H3O+ (sometimes called hydronium ion)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

Definition of a Bronsted-Lowry acid and base

A

An acid donates H+ in a chemical reaction

A base accepts H+ a chemical reaction

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

Why is the Bronsted-Lowry definition an improvement on the Arrhenius definition?

A

Not all acid-base reactions happen in water

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

Definition of a Lewis acid and base

A

An acid accepts a pair of electrons

A base donates a pair of electrons

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

Why are all Bronsted-Lowry acids Lewis acids but not all Lewis acids and Bronsted-Lowry acids?

A

A Bronsted-Lowry acid donates a proton and in the process of this, accepts a pair of electrons therefore all Bronsted-Lowry acids are Lewis acids. However, not all acid-base reactions involve an H+ ion so not all Lewis acids are Bronsted-Lowry acids

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

What is a strong acid and a strong base

A

A strong acid is a powerful proton donor

A strong base is a powerful proton acceptor

The strength of an acid and a base is their most fundamental property

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

What is Ka?

A

Ka is the acid dissociation constant. The greater the degree of dissociation, the larger the value of Ka

Ka values can range from very large and positive to very small and negative so pKa is used

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

What is pKa?

A

pKa = -log10(Ka)

When Ka is large, pKa is small/negative
When Ka is small, pKa is large/positive

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

Why do strong acids appear to have the same pKa in water and how can this be solved?

A

Strong acids fully dissociate in water meaning they will all show the same pKa. To solve this issue, a process called solvent levelling is used. This is where a solvent which is a poorer H+ acceptor so the difference in dissociation is noticeable

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

Amphoteric

A

When a molecule can act as an acid or a base. Sometimes called amphiprotic

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

How to calculate pH

A

pH = -log10[H3O+]

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

The pH of water

A

At 298K, the pH of water is 7.0, pH can vary with temperature. The higher the temperature, the lower the pH

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

Assumptions of weak acids

A

1) [H3O+] = [A-]
- expect in extremely dilute solution
- in pure water [H3O+] = 10^-7 mol dm-3

2) There is very little dissociation of the weak acid

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

What is the degree of dissociation?

A

The ratio of dissociated ions to the starting compound

17
Q

Acid strength of the hydrogen halides?

A

HI > HBr > HCl&raquo_space; F

The acid strength depends on the position of equilibrium when reacted with water

18
Q

Bond dissociation energy order D(H-X)

A

HF > HCl > HBr > HI

19
Q

How can the bond hydrogen halides equilibrium with water be pulled to the right

A

X- can hydrogen bond with the oxonium ion which contributes positively and pulls the equilibrium position to the right

20
Q

What happens when X- = F-

A

The hydrogen bonding is very strong that it ‘masks’ the acidity of the oxonium ions

While HI, HBr, and HCl all have low pKa values (meaning they are acidic), HF has a pKa value of 3.2 meaning it is a weak acid

There is an effect from the strength of the H-X bond but a larger effect from the hydrogen bonding

21
Q

What is an oxo acid?

A

An oxo acid is one which contains an O-H group and will have a double bond between oxygen and another
element

Many of these oxo acids have more than one ionisable hydrogen

The general form for an oxo acid is HmEOn

22
Q

How many equilibriums does each basic molecule have?

A

Monobasic - one equilibrium
Dibasic - two equilibriums
Tribasic - three equilibriums

It is harder to remove H+ from an anion due to the electrostatic attraction

23
Q

What happens to the value of pKa as n-m increases

A

The value of pKa will decrease as the value of n-m increases

24
Q

How many resonance forms would NOOH have?

A
  • There are 2 resonance forms
  • n-m = 1
  • Negative charge delocalised over 2 oxygen atoms
25
Q

Which is more stable HClO3 or HClO4?

A

HClO4 is more stable as it has more resonance forms meaning the negative charge is spread over more electronegative atoms than in HClO3

26
Q

Bell’s Rule

A

pKa = 8-5(n-m)

This is an empirical equation

27
Q

Superacids and superbases

A

Superacids are acids with very low pKa values

Superbases are bases with very high pKa values, and are almost all derived from reactions with alkali metals

28
Q

Buffer solutions

A

A buffer solutions resists change in pH on addition of small amounts of acid and base

Consists of either:

  • Weak acid and salt of its conjugate base
  • Weak base and salt of its conjugate acid
29
Q

Buffer capacity

A

The amount of acid or base which can be added to a buffer solution before it no longer resists change in pH

30
Q

Henderson-Hasselback equation

A

pKa = pH - log10[A-]/[HA]

Derived from:
-log10(Ka) = -log10[H3O+] - log10[A-]/[HA]

31
Q

Why should the pKa of a solution be close to the pH

A

Using the Henderson-Hasselback equation, when [A-] = [HA] then [A-]/[HA] = 1 so log10[A-]/[HA] = 0. Therefore pH = pKa + 0 so pKa will be relatively close to the pH of a solution

32
Q

Amino acids

A
  • Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins
  • Proteins are chains of many amino acids arranged in 3D
  • In the human body, there are 20 known amino acids all with the same structure
  • Never found in a neutral form –> always at least one charge on the molecule but there may be no overall charge as it may be zwitterionic
33
Q

What is a zwitterion?

A

A zwitterion is a molecule which is neutral and contains an equal number of positive and negative charges within it

34
Q

Isoelectric point

A

The pH at which an amino acid will form a zwitterion. The symbol for isoelectric point is pI

Degree Chemistry (1 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2025 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions