Redox

Common acids:
● Sulfuric acid- H2SO4
● Hydrochloric acid- HCl
● Nitric acid- HNO3
● Ethanoic acid- CH3COOH

Acid- proton donor

★ Acids release H+ ions (protons) when added to water
★ The general formula for the reaction of acids and water is: HA + H2O <-> H3O+ + A-

Common bases:
● Sodium hydroxide- NaOH
● Ammonia- NH3
● Copper (II) oxide- CuO
● Potassium Carbonate- K2CO3

Base- proton acceptor

★ Metal hydroxides, ammonia, metal oxides, and metal carbonates
are all bases (metal hydroxides and aqueous ammonia are alkalis)
★ The general formula for the reaction of bases and water is: B +
H2O <-> BH+ + OH
★ Bases accept protons from water

● Alkalis are just soluble bases

★ Strong acids dissociate/ ionise completely (lose all their H+ ions) whereas weak acids
only partially dissociate/ionise.
★ In the same way, strong bases fully ionise/dissociate (they lose all their ‘OH’es),
whereas weak bases only partially ionise.

● In full dissociation/ionisation, the concentration of the ion in mol dm^-3 will be the same
as it was for the whole acid (high H+ concentration)
● In partial dissociation, the forward reaction does not happen as readily as the backwards
reaction (low H+ concentration, lower than the concentration of the overall acid)

Reactions of acids and bases

Acid (aq) + alkali (aq) -> salt (aq) + water (l)
● Aqueous ammonia (NH3) becomes NH4OH in water
● The ionic equation for an acid alkali reaction is: H+ (aq) + OH- (aq) -> H2O (l)

Acids and metal oxides

Acid + metal oxide -> salt + water
Acids and metal carbonates
Acid + metal carbonate -> salt + water + carbon dioxide

Acids and metals

Acid + metal -> salt + hydrogen

Salt- a substance formed when the H+ of an acid is replaced by a metal ion or an ammonium
ion
● Salt name = first part of the name of the acid + ‘ate’

Moles and solutions

A solution is formed when a solute is dissolved in a solvent
With a solution you need to know how many grams of solute are dissolved in what volume of
solvent (concentration)

Concentration- The amount of solute in moles dissolved per 1 dm^3 of solution

The units are mol dm^-3)

● Concentration equation: C= mol/dm^3

● Concentration= no. of moles (of solid)/volume (of liquid)

★ Volume must always be in decimetres cubed (ml=cm, 1dm = 1000cm, litres and dm^3
are actually the same thing)

● ‘Strong’ solution= concentrated (high no. moles/dm^3)

● ‘Weak’ solution= dilute (low no. moles/dm^3)

★ Sometimes we are asked to express the concentration in g dm^-3

★ In this situation we use the mass in grams of the solute rather than the no. of moles to
calculate concentration

● When mass of solute is increased, mass of solution must also be increased for the
solution to stay the same concentration

★ Adding more water to a solution= dilution

★ 1M = 1 molar = 1 mol dm^-3
★ Standard solution= we know its concentration
★ The brown line on a volumetric flask caps the volume to 250 cm^3
★ To do the dilution calculation, we work out the number of moles originally in the amount
of standard solution we diluted using n = c x v
★ We then work out the total volume of the solution we now have, using the no. of moles in
the original solution to calculate concentration
 ● Remember to convert to and from dm^3 and to look at which bits of the equation you do
have when calculating
● Always convert into the units that you are asked for.

Reacting amount calculations involving solutions

To do a reacting masses calculation involving solutions (titration/neutralisation reaction), we:
Identify the known and unknown substances
1. Work out the moles of the known (c x v)
2. We then work out the moles of the unknown based on the ratio of acid to alkali in the
equation
3. Then we work out the concentration of the unknown using the volume and number of
moles (n/v)

● If asked for in grams per decimetre cubed, we multiply our answer by the Mr of the
substance, as our answer acts as the number of moles for if the substance was a solid
and not dissolved

★ With complex questions, visualise what’s going on at each point to avoid getting lost,
and write out the balanced equation if needed and not provided.

How to make a standard solution (known volume and concentration)

To make a standard solution:

1. Weigh out a known mass of solid (recording the mass you used if the mass was not
perfect)
2. You then transfer the solid to a beaker, including the washings
3. You then dissolve the solid in a small amount of distilled water (this is important to stop
other ions affecting your results by causing other reactions to happen)
4. This would be stirred with a stirring rod, which would then be rinsed so that the washings
could be included
5. Then the solution would be transferred into a volumetric flask of the required volume
(usually 250 cm^3) rinsing the beaker to include the washings
6. Then you would make the solution up to the mark, making sure that the base of the
meniscus sits on the mark
7. Then you would put the stopper on the volumetric flask and invert/shake to ensure that
the solute was fully dissolved
8. Then you would label the flask with the name of the solution inside, its concentration,
and the date it was produced

How to do an acid-base titration

● Titrations are used to determine volumes of acid and alkali needed to make a neutral
salt solution
● Titrations are also used to determine concentration of an acid or alkali if the
concentration of the other reactant is known
How to carry out a titration:
1. Wash burette using the solution that is going into the burette (i.e: the acid) and then
distilled water
2. Fill burette to 100cm3 said solution with the meniscus’ base on the 100cm3 line using a
funnel, draining any excess solution out through the tap into a waste beaker
3. Use 25cm3 pipette to add 25cm3 of alkali into a conical flask that is placed on a white
tile, drawing alkali into the pipette using a pipette filler
4. Add a few drops of a suitable indicator to the conical flask (eg: phenolphthalein
which is pink when alkaline and colourless when acidic)
5. Add acid from burette to alkali until end-point is reached (as shown by indicator)
6. The titre (volume of acid needed to exactly neutralise the alkali) is the difference
between the first (100cm3) and second readings on the burette)
7. Repeat the experiment to gain more precise results

Titration tips:
★ Horizontal position of burette tap= closed
★ Have the zero point on the burette at eye level so that you can check that the meniscus
is in the correct position
★ Never have the funnel still on/in the burette whilst the titration is occurring as excess
solution can drip off it into the burette, altering your results
★ Make sure the jet (bit above the tap before the graduations begin) is full too by overfilling
the burette, then draining out the solution to the correct point, thus removing any trapped
air
★ The meniscus is a result of the water’s surface tension/cohesion,causing water to stick
to the sides of the glass and creating a ellipse
★ The resolution of the burette is to 0.01 (results go up in .1s), so results should be
recorded to 2 d.p
★ As long as you know where the burette starts, it doesn’t have to be perfectly on zero
★ If the meniscus is between two 0.1s, then round it to exactly halfway between (i.e: 1.15 if
between 0.1 and 0.2) as the burette does not have a high enough resolution to show you
conclusively the exact value, so the second decimal place is always a zero or a five
★ Hold the pipette at the top to avoid snapping it

● In terms of what you record, you should record the initial

volume in the burette in cm^3, the final volume of the burette
in cm^3 (the end point), the titre (difference between the
two/amount used) in cm^3, and, over the course of however
many readings you take, the mean titre
● The first reading is used as a trial to get a rough idea of the
endpoint (as it’s a trial, you shouldn’t use this attempts
results), and the titration is repeated as many times as necessary until you get two
readings that are within 0.10 of each other (concordant results)
 ● Always quote mean titre to 1 d.p

★ All equipment used to measure out is not totally accurate- we call this percentage error
(as in it is accurate up until a point)
★ Usually stamped on the side of the equipment
★ For example, a pipette may have a percentage error of +/- 0.06ml, so if you supposedly
measure out 25ml, then you could actually have measured out 25.06 or 24.94 instead

● To calculate percentage error, we do the amount of error (i.e:

0.06ml) divided by the measured amount (i.e: 25ml), then timesed
by 100
● Always times the percentage error by the number of times the
apparatus was used
● When you use multiple apparatus (i.e: a burette and a pipette) you
add the percentage error of each together to work out overall
percentage error

Percentage yield and limiting reagent

Theoretical yield- the amount of product produced if there is 100% conversion

Most reactions don’t reach the theoretical yield because:

● The reaction wasn’t given enough time to complete
● Product may be lost in transfer between containers/filtering
● Reaction may be reversible

Actual yield- how much product was actually produced

★ Percentage yield= actual yield/theoretical yield x 100 (usually in moles, but can be done
by mass)
★ Always look at ratio in reaction to determine theoretical yield

● The limiting reagent is the reagent that runs out first based on which has the least moles
(the other reactant is said to be in excess)
● The limiting reagent limits how much product can be produced

Atom economy
● Most reactions make not just a desired product, but also often waste products
● Disposing of waste products can be expensive and not necessarily very
eco-friendly/sustainable (i.e: using extra chemicals to treat waste, burning fossil fuels to
fuel disposal)
● So chemists are always researching alternative ways to make products with highest
possible atom economy (i.e: by using a catalyst, or by using different reactants)

★ Atom economy= Mr of desired product/sum of the Mrs of all the reactants x 100
● Ratios must be considered when doing this calculation, for example, if there is 2
oxygens as reactants, then the Mr of oxygen contributed to the sum of all Mrs of the
reactants will be doubled accordingly

★ Addition reactions always have an atom economy of 100% because the two reactants
only make one product

● Substitution and elimination reactions always have an atom economy of less than 100%
as there is always more than 1 product for each