Acids and Bases Lecture Notes

These flashcards cover key vocabulary and principles related to acids, bases, and their reactions.

Arrhenius Acid

A species that, when dissolved in water, dissociates to produce hydrogen ions (H+).

Arrhenius Base

A species that, when dissolved in water, dissociates to produce hydroxide ions (OH-).

Hydronium Ion (H3O+)

The ion formed when a hydrogen ion (H+) combines with a water molecule.

Conjugate Acid

What the base becomes after it accepts a proton.

Conjugate Base

What the acid becomes after it donates its proton.

Acid-Base Reaction

A reaction involving the transfer of a hydrogen ion (H+) from one reactant to another.

Brønsted-Lowry Acid

A proton donor.

Brønsted-Lowry Base

A proton acceptor.

Strong Acid

An acid that dissociates completely in water.

Weak Acid

An acid that partially dissociates in water.

pH Scale

A scale that indicates the acidity or basicity of a solution, ranging from 0 (very acidic) to 14 (very basic).

pH

The negative logarithm of the hydronium ion concentration; pH = -log[H3O+].

Buffer

A solution that resists changes in pH when small amounts of acid or base are added.

Common Ion Effect

The decrease in the solubility of a salt in a solution that already contains one of the ions in the salt.

Titration

A technique used to determine the concentration of a solution by reacting it with a solution of known concentration.

Polyprotic Acid

An acid that can donate more than one proton per molecule.