Chapter 11: Acids and Bases

A collection of vocabulary flashcards covering basic acid-base chemistry, naming, strong vs weak electrolytes, pH calculations, and buffers based on the CHM 101 transcript.

Arrhenius Acid

Any substance that produces $H^+$ ions when dissolved in water.

Arrhenius Base

Any substance that produces $OH^-$ ions when dissolved in water.

Brønsted–Lowry Acid

A substance that acts as a proton donor by donating $H^+$.

Brønsted–Lowry Base

A substance that acts as a proton acceptor by accepting $H^+$.

Electrolytes

Substances that produce ions in water; acids and bases are electrolytes because they produce $H^+$ or $OH^-$ ions.

Naming Binary Acids

Acids with a hydrogen ion and a nonmetal (or $CN^-$) are named with the prefix hydro- and end with -ic acid.

Naming Polyatomic 'ate' Acids

Acids with a hydrogen ion and a polyatomic ion ending in -ate are named by changing the suffix to -ic acid.

Naming Polyatomic 'ite' Acids

Acids with a hydrogen ion and a polyatomic ion ending in -ite are named by changing the suffix to -ous acid.

Hydrochloric Acid

A common acid with the formula $HCl$, named using the hydro- prefix and -ic acid suffix.

Chloric Acid

An acid with the formula $HClO_3$, derived from the chlorate polyatomic ion.

Chlorous Acid

An acid with the formula $HClO_2$, derived from the chlorite polyatomic ion.

Carbonic Acid

A common polyatomic acid with the formula $H_2CO_3$, derived from the carbonate ion.

Calcium Hydroxide

The base $Ca(OH)_2$, used in the food industry for beverages and in dentistry as a root canal filler.

Conjugate Acid–Base Pair

Two substances in a reaction related by the loss and gain of a single $H^+$ ion.

Strong Acid

An acid that dissociates $100.0000000000000142108547152020037174224853515625100.0000000000000142108547152020037174224853515625100.0$ into ions in water.

Weak Acid

An acid where only a few molecules dissociate, leaving most in the undissociated molecular form.

Hydroiodic Acid

A strong acid with the formula $HI$ and conjugate base iodide ($I^-$).

Perchloric Acid

A strong acid with the formula $HClO_4$ and conjugate base perchlorate ($ClO_4^-$).

Nitric Acid

A strong acid with the formula $HNO_3$ and conjugate base nitrate ($NO_3^-$).

Sulfuric Acid

A strong acid with the formula $H_2SO_4$ and conjugate base hydrogen sulfate ($HSO_4^-$).

Hydrobromic Acid

A common strong acid represented by the formula $HBr$.

Hydrofluoric Acid

A common weak acid with the formula $HF$ and conjugate base fluoride ($F^-$).

Acetic Acid

A common weak acid with the formula $HC_2H_3O_2$ and conjugate base acetate ($C_2H_3O_2^-$).

Nitrous Acid

A common weak acid with the formula $HNO_2$ and conjugate base nitrite ($NO_2^-$).

$$K_a$$

The equilibrium constant used to measure the strength of a weak acid.

$$K_b$$

The equilibrium constant used to measure the strength of a weak base.

Amphoteric

A substance, such as water, that can act as both an acid and a base.

Autoionization of Water

The process where water reacts with itself to form both hydronium ($H_3O^+$) and hydroxide ($OH^-$) ions.

$$K_w$$

The ion product constant for water, equal to $1.0 imes 10^{-14}$ at $25.00000000000000355271367880050092935562133789062525.00000000000000355271367880050092935562133789062525.0\,^{\circ}C25.0$.

Acidic Solution

A solution where the concentration of hydronium ($[H_3O^+]$) is greater than the concentration of hydroxide ($[OH^-]$).

Basic Solution

A solution where the concentration of hydronium ($[H_3O^+]$) is less than the concentration of hydroxide ($[OH^-]$).

Neutral Solution

A solution where the concentration of hydronium ($[H_3O^+]$) is equal to the concentration of hydroxide ($[OH^-]$).

pH Scale

A scale ranging from $0$ to $14$ used to indicate the acidity or basicity of a solution based on $H_3O^+$ concentration.

pH Formula

The mathematical expression for acidity: $pH = -\log[H^+]$.

pOH Formula

The mathematical expression for basicity: $pOH = -\log[OH^-]$.

pH and pOH Sum

In any aqueous solution, the sum of $pH$ and $pOH$ must equal $14.00000000000000355271367880050092935562133789062514.00000000000000355271367880050092935562133789062514.0$.

Calculating $[H^+]$ from pH

The formula used to find hydrogen ion concentration: $[H^+] = 10^{-pH}$.

Calculating $[OH^-]$ from pOH

The formula used to find hydroxide ion concentration: $[OH^-] = 10^{-pOH}$.

Buffer

A solution that has the ability to resist large changes in pH when small amounts of acid or base are added.

Buffer Components

Typically composed of acid-base conjugate pairs, such as a weak acid and a salt of its conjugate base.