Prescience Lessons: Reactions Between Acids and Bases

Objectives

• Describe the reaction between an acid and a base, alkali, or metal carbonate.
• Predict the products of a neutralization reaction.

Key Concepts

Bases and Alkalis

• Bases: Chemicals that can neutralize acids to produce salt and water.
• Alkalis: Bases that are soluble in water.
  • Examples:
    • Copper oxide and iron (III) hydroxide are bases (insoluble).
    • Sodium hydroxide is both a base and an alkali (soluble).

Reactions of Acids with Bases and Alkalis

• Acid + Base/Alkali → Salt + Water
  • Example:
    • Hydrochloric acid + Copper oxide (base) → Copper chloride + Water
    • Hydrochloric acid + Sodium hydroxide (alkali) → Sodium chloride + Water

Identifying Salts in Neutralization Reactions

• Salts contain:
  • Positive ion: From the base or alkali.
  • Negative ion: From the acid.
  • Common acids and ions:
    • Hydrochloric acid → Chlorides
    • Sulfuric acid → Sulfates
    • Nitric acid → Nitrates

Practice Question

• Sulfuric acid + Zinc oxide → Zinc sulfate + Water

Another Practice Question

• Nitric acid + Lithium hydroxide → Lithium nitrate + Water

Metal Carbonates

• Metal Carbonates: React with acids to produce salt, water, and carbon dioxide.
• Examples of metal carbonates:
  • Sodium carbonate
  • Calcium carbonate
  • Potassium carbonate

Reactions of Acids with Metal Carbonates

• Acid + Metal Carbonate → Salt + Water + Carbon Dioxide
• Example:
  • Hydrochloric acid + Copper carbonate → Copper chloride + Water + Carbon dioxide

Exam Tip

• Learn the reactions between acids and metal carbonates as they frequently appear in exams.

Conclusion

• You should now be able to describe how acids react with bases, alkalis, and metal carbonates.
• Predict the products of neutralization reactions.

• For more practice questions, refer to the vision workbook available through the provided link.