Acid-Base Chemistry
Ions, pH, reactions, neutralisation, soil treatment, bases and oxide classification.
The lessons below are in teaching order. Work through them in turn, then come back after practice and use the outcomes on this page to choose what to review. Finishing a topic records participation only. Check your progress to see what you can answer independently and what to review next.
Lessons in order
- Acids, bases, alkalis and indicators
Use aqueous ions and raw indicator observations to distinguish acidic, neutral and alkaline solutions.
- Acid reactions and neutralisation
Predict products, connect gas observations to reactions, and explain neutralisation with ions and balanced equations.
- Applications and oxide behaviour
Choose a soil treatment and classify oxides from their acid and alkali reactions.
Learning goals
- describe the meanings of the terms acid and alkali in terms of the ions they produce in aqueous solution and their effects on Universal Indicator
- describe neutrality and relative acidity and alkalinity, in terms of — relative H+ and OH– ion concentrations,
- describe neutrality and relative acidity and alkalinity, in terms of — colour in Universal Indicator, and
- describe neutrality and relative acidity and alkalinity, in terms of — the pH scale (calculation of pH from hydrogen ion concentration is not required)
- describe the characteristic properties of acids as in reactions with metals, bases and carbonates to form salts (description of the preparation of pure salts is not required)
- describe the reaction between hydrogen ions and hydroxide ions to produce water, H+ + OH– → H2O, as neutralisation
- describe the characteristic properties of bases in reactions with acids and with ammonium salts
- describe the importance of controlling the pH in soils and how excess acidity can be treated using calcium hydroxide
- classify oxides as acidic, basic, amphoteric or neutral based on metallic/non-metallic character.