Theories of acids and bases Flashcards
What is an Arrhenius acid?
A compound that dissolves in water to yield hydrogen ions
What is an Arrhenius base?
A compound that dissolves in water to yield hydroxide ions
What is an example of Arrhenius acid?
HCl (g) → H⁺ (aq) + Cl⁻ (aq)
What is an example of Arrhenius base?
NaOH (s) → Na⁺ (aq) + OH⁻ (aq)
What is a Bronsted-lowry acid?
Proton donor
What is a Bronsted-Lowry base?
Proton acceptor
What is a Lewis acid?
electron-pair acceptor
What is a Lewis base?
electron-pair donor
What is a strong acid or base?
One that ionises completely in aqueous solutions
What are examples of strong acids?
Mineral acids such as H₂SO₄, HCl, HNO₃
What are some examples of strong bases?
- metal hydroxides such as NaOH, KOH, Ca(OH)₂, Ba(OH)₂
- Metal oxides such as Na₂O, K₂O, BaO
What are weak acid or bases?
One that ionises partially in aqueous solution
What are some examples of weak acids?
- most organic acids such as HCOOH
- some inorganic acids like HCN or HNO₂
What are some examples of weak bases?
- NH₃
- Organic amines like CH₃NH₂
How to measure the relative strength of acids or bases?
- degree of ionisation
- pH
- dissociation constant
What conditions need to be met to use degree of ionisation or dissociation?
- same temperature
- same concentration
What is the formula for degree of ionisation/dissociation?
α = amount of molecules which ionised at equilibrium/amount of molecules present initially
What is the degree of ionisation/dissociation for strong acids/bases?
α = 1
What is the degree of ionisation/dissociation for weak acids/bases?
0 < α < 1
What is the relationship of α and the strength of acid/base?
The greater the value of α, the stronger the acid/base
What is the degree of ionisation depend on and what affects it? (limitation)
- concentration of acids/bases
- HA (aq) + H₂O (l) ⇌ H₃O⁺ + A⁻ (aq)
- When water is added, [HA], [H₃O⁺], [A⁻] decreases, most species on right is diluted, POE shift right and degree of ionisation increases
- α increases with decreasing concentration of acid/bases
What do hydrogen ions do in aqueous solutions?
due to its high charge density, it is always dative bonded to water molecule to form H₃O⁺
What is the assumption when using pH and pOH?
assuming same concentration of acid/base
What is the equation of auto-ionisation of water?
H₂O (l) ⇌ H⁺ (aq) + OH⁻ (aq)
What is Kw?
- ionic product of water
- Kw = [H⁺][OH⁻] = 10⁻¹⁴ at 25 degree celsius
Is the auto-ionisation exothermic or endothermic?
endothermic
How does Kw vary with temperature?
- H₂O (l) ⇌ H⁺ (aq) + OH⁻ (aq)
- As temperature increases, POE shift right to absorb heat
- [H⁺] and [OH⁻] increase
- Kw increases
What is the graph of Kw against temperature?
Curve with increasing gradient
What is the equation of pKw?
pKw = pH + pOH
What needs to be constant for equilibrium constant to be used to indicate strength of acids and bases?
same temperature
What is Ka?
- acid dissociation constant
- HA (aq) ⇌ H⁺ (aq) + A⁻ (aq)
- Kₐ = [H⁺][A⁻]/[HA]
What does greater Ka indicate?
Stronger the acid