Acids and bases

  • Arrhenius Acid: A substance that increases the concentration of hydrogen ions (H+) when dissolved in water.

  • Arrhenius Base: A substance that increases the concentration of hydroxide ions (OH-) when dissolved in water.

  • Bronsted-Lowry Acid: A substance that can donate a proton (H+).

  • Bronsted-Lowry Base: A substance that can accept a proton (H+).

  • Conjugate Acid-Base Pair: Two substances where one is the acid and the other is the base when a proton is transferred.

  • Conjugate Base: The species formed when a Bronsted-Lowry acid loses a proton.

  • Conjugate Acid: The species formed when a Bronsted-Lowry base gains a proton.

  • Strong Acid/Base: An acid/base that completely dissociates in water, forming a high concentration of H+ or OH- ions.

  • Weak Acid/Base: An acid/base that only partially dissociates in water, forming a low concentration of H+ or OH- ions.

  • Hydronium Ion (H3O+): The stable form of hydrogen ion in aqueous solutions.

  • Hydroxide Ion (OH-): The stable form of the hydroxide group in aqueous solutions.

  • Buffer: A solution that resists changes in pH upon the addition of small amounts of acid or base.

  • Dissociation: The process where a compound separates into its constituent ions.

  • Neutral: A solution with a pH of 7, where [H3O+] = [OH-].

  • Titration: A laboratory technique used to determine the unknown concentration of an acid or base by completely neutralizing it with a solution of known concentration.

  • Water Dissociation Constant (Kw): The product of the concentrations of hydronium and hydroxide ions in pure water, equal to 1 x 10^-14 at 25°C.