Acid and Alkali

Here, you will learn all about Acids, Alkali, Bases and Neutral.

Universal Indicator : 
Red, Orange Yellow is acidic, Green is Neutral, while blue, purple are alkaline

Table of Contents

Neutral 

Acids 

Alkalis-Bases 

Chemical Properties 

Salt Compounds

In this page, you will learn EVERY SINGLE THING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT ACID, ALKALI, BASES AND NEUTRAL.

What is Neutral?

Neutral is a chemical compound that are neither Acidic nor Alkaline nor Basic. In other words, Neutral has a pH of 7, doesn't turn Litmus paper to any color and turns Universal Indicator to Green.

Some of the examples of Neutral is :

• Sugar
• Table Salt
• Cooking Oil

And more.

What makes Neutral Neutral is that the amount of Positively Charged Hydrogen Ions and Negatively Charged Hydrogen Ions are the same, hence making the solution neutral.

To let a solution's Positively Charged Hydrogen Ions and Negatively Charged Hydrogen Ions to be the same, a process is used, called Neutralisation.

Neutralisation is a process in which an acid is added to a base/ alkali to produce salt and water.

Click Here to learn more about Neutralisation.

What is Acids?

Acids is a chemical compound that releases positively charged ions when dissolved in water.

Acids are sour and colorless. It turns blue litmus papers to red and remains unchanged when in contact with red litmus papers. It also changes universal indicators to red, orange or yellow.

Mixed Acid and Alkali in Universal Indicator
( Red : Acid ) ( Blue : Alkali )

Acids have a pH less than 7, and it is very corrosive when the acid is concentrated. 

Some of the examples of concentrated acids are Oleum. ( Not Olin... ah... you know what I mean )

Some acids CAN be consumed. These acids are called Organic Acids. 

Organic Acids is a Weak Acid ( Not concentrated ) in which it is a Weak Acid mainly because the Positively Charged Hydrogen Ions are partially ionized when dissolved in Water, hence creating a weak acid. 

Organic Acids can be found in living organisms, such as ants, which have formic acid, and the Vitamin C we eat daily, which is called Ascorbic Acid.

Some of the examples of Weak Acids are :

Citric Acid ( Citrus Fruits )

Tartaric Acid  ( Grapes )

Malic Acid ( Apple )

Ethanoic Acid ( Vinegar )

Ascorbic Acid ( Vitamin C )

Uric Acid ( Urine )

Lactic Acid ( Muscle )

Tannic Acid ( Tea )

Formic Acid ( Ant )

And more.

Mineral Acids CAN be consumed, based on its concentration. These acids are made in labs.

Mineral Acids is a Strong Acid ( Not concentrated ) in which it is a Strong Acid is because the Positively Charged Hydrogen Ions are COMPLETELY ionized when dissolved in Water, hence creating a strong acid. 

You might be thinking : Hey! Its Strong Acid and it can burn you! ( Or it is corrosive )

IT'S WRONG

There are two types of ANOTHER acids, called Concentrated Acids and Diluted Acids.

Concentrated acid have more hydrogen ions than solvent while Diluted Acids have less hydrogen ions than its solvent ( maybe water ).

What is Alkali?

Alkali, or Bases, is almost the same thing. BUT, their definition isn't the same.

Alkali : 

A chemical compound that releases negatively charged hydroxide ions when dissolved in water.

Base :

A chemical compound that reacts in acid to produce salt and water ONLY

Now why Alkali and Base is always known as an equal?

This is because both Alkali and Base turns litmus paper to blue, both are bitter, both are slippery or soapy, both are colorless, both has the pH of more than 7, and also it turns corrosive when concentrated.

The only difference between Base and Alkali is that Alkali is a more Special base for Alkali dissolves in water and releases negatively charged hydrogen ions. In other words, you can say that Alkali is a base that dissolves in water.

Now this part is going to be interesting.

All Alkalis are Bases but not all Bases are Alkalis.

Confusing right?

Its just the same as the Biology All Enzymes are Protein but not all Protein are Enzymes.

Some of the examples of Alkalis are :

Elements	Oxides	Hydroxides
Calcium	Yes ( Calcium Oxide ) ( CaO )	Yes ( Calcium Hydroxide )  ( Ca ( OH )2  )
Ammonium	No	Yes ( Ammonium Hydroxide ) ( NH4OH )
Potassium	Yes ( Potassium Oxide ) ( K2O )	Yes ( Potassium Hydroxide ) ( KOH )
Sodium	Yes ( Sodium Oxide )  ( Na2O )	Yes ( Sodium Hydroxide ) ( NaOH )

NOTE!

There is no Ammonium Oxide, but there is Ammonium Hydroxide, which Ammonium Hydroxide is a weak alkali.

And there are 3 types of Bases :

Metal Hydroxide

Metal Carbonate

Metal Oxide

These bases are insoluble, however, Alkalis are soluble, in water.

We remember the definition of Alkali :

Alkali is a chemical compound that releases negatively charged hydrogen ions when dissolved in water.

While bases are :

A chemical compound that  reacts with acid to produce salt and water only.

To bases, Alkalis are just a special type of bases that dissolves in water.

Some of the examples of Alkalis and Bases are :

• Toothpaste
• Detergent
• Soap / Shampoo
• Baking Soda
• Antacid

Now, we move foward to the Chemical Properties of Acid

All you have to do is to remember these General Equations :

1. Acid + Alkali → Salt + Water
   Example :
   Hydrochloric Acid + Sodium Hydroxide → Sodium Chloride + Water
   
   
2. Acid + Metal → Salt + Hydrogen
   Example :
   Sulfuric Acid + Iron → Iron Sulphate + Hydrogen
   
   
3. Acid + Metal Carbonate → Salt + Carbon Dioxide + Water
   Example :
   Nitric Acid + Calcium Carbonate → Calcium Nitrate + Carbon Dioxide + Water

And Alkali :

1. Alkali / Base + Acid → Salt + Water
   Example :
   Iron Oxide + Hydrochloric Acid → Iron Chloride + Water
   
   
2. Alkali + Ammonium Salt → Salt + Water + Ammonia
   Example : 
   Sodium Hydroxide + Ammonium Chloride → Sodium Chloride + Water + Ammonia

Now you might be wondering how did Chlorides or Nitrate comes out.

All you have to do is to look at these Salt Compounds :

Acid	Salts
Hydrochloric Acid ( HCl )	...( Element )... Chloride
Sulfuric Acid ( H2SO4 )	...( Element )... Sulphate
Nitric Acid ( HNO3 )	...( Element )... Nitrate
Phosphoric Acid ( H3PO4	...( Element )... Phosphate
Ethanoic Acid ( CH3COOH )	...( Element )... Ethanoate
Carbonic Acid ( H2CO3	...( Element )... Carbonate

IN CONCLUSION :
All you have to know, for sure, is that :

Acids are Acidic;

Alkalis are Alkaline;

Bases are Basic;

AND

Neutrals are Neutral.

JUST THAT EASY.

This is the end of Acid and Alkali.

To go to homepage, click this link : 

Our Homepage

To go to Chemistry Element Page, click this link : 

garnetchemistryelement.blogspot.com

Thanks for visiting.
If there is any improvements needed, feel free to comment at the comment section below.
Thank you