CFQ3 4 Chapter 3 Student Book Answers
CFQ3 4 Chapter 3 Student Book Answers
3.1 Acids
Pages 76–77
a Proton donor
A proton donor is a substance that can donate H+, e.g. HCl or CH3COOH.
b Monoprotic acid
A monoprotic acid is an acid that can donate one hydrogen ion (H+) per molecule, e.g. HCl
c Polyprotic acid
A polyprotic acid is an acid that can donate more than one hydrogen ion (H+) per molecule, e.g. H2SO4 (can donate
2 H+), H3PO4 (can donate 3 H+)
Some examples: Lemon and orange juice (citric acid), vinegar (acetic acid), car battery (sulfuric acid), Vitamin C in
blueberries and various fruit and vegetables (ascorbic acid), milk (lactic acid)
4 Lemons are strongly acidic (pH 2–3). Investigate why the juice of a lemon is not dangerous for humans.
The acid in lemons is primarily citric acid (C6H8O7). It is a weak acid and therefore does not completely dissociate in
water. This means is does not release all its protons in solution and therefore is not as corrosive as a strong acid, which
releases all its protons. Also, your body contains buffering agents that help resist small changes in acidity.
5 Investigate three monoprotic and three polyprotic acids and classify them as strong or weak.
6 Discuss how the ocean’s acidity is increasing and research how this affects the Great Barrier Reef.
The formation of hydronium ions increases the levels of acidity in the oceans. The acid reacts with the calcium
carbonate in shells and corals. Excess levels of acid in the ocean can reduce coral growth and weaken reef structures,
and cause the death of organisms that have shells and creatures that depend on them for food.
A weak acid does not completely ionise (or dissociate) in water, whereas a strong acid completely ionises (or
dissociates) in water. A strong acid keeps dissociating until it has donated all of its H + ions to water molecules; a weak
acid does not.
A concentrated acid is one that has a lot of solute dissolved in solution, i.e. there is a large amount of the acid in the
water. The opposite is a dilute solution, where there is only a little acid in the water. A strong acid is one that will
ionise completely and donate all of its H+ ions to water molecules. So a dilute solution of strong acid will have a small
amount of acid in it that dissociates completely.
a Sulfuric acid
b Ethanoic acid
4 Construct a chemical equation for the dissociation of ammonia (NH3) when it reacts with water (H2O).
Kw is the ionic product of water, the equilibrium constant for the self-ionisation of water.
The self-ionisation of water is the reaction in which a water molecule spontaneously splits in two to form a hydrogen
ion (H+) and a hydroxide ion (OH–). The hydrogen ion attaches itself to another water molecule to form the hydronium
ion (H3O+).
3 Justify the Kw value for water at 30°C. Show all your working.
From Table 1:
4 Evaluate Table 1 and continue the table up to 100°C (in 10°C increments).
Suggestion: You could plot the relationship between pH and temperature using Excel. From the graph, find the pH
values by completing the trendline and then calculate Kw based on these pH figures.
Temperature Kw pH
40 6.77
50 6.63
70 6.39
80 6.28
90 6.25
100 6.14
pH is a measure of hydrogen ion concentration [H+] in a solution and therefore a measure of the acidity or alkalinity of
a solution.
3 Calculate the pH of a sodium hydroxide solution at 25°C (hydroxide ion concentration is 0.0077M).
4 Calculate the pOH of a solution with a hydroxide ion concentration of 3.8 × 10–4 M.
6 The hydrogen ion concentration in human blood is . Determine the pH and pOH of human blood.
1 Deduce the conjugate bases of nitric acid (HNO3) and ammonium (NH4+).
An amphiprotic species is a molecule or ion that can either donate or accept a proton and so therefore can act both as
an acid and a base.
4 Determine the amphiprotic species from the following list and write chemical equations illustrating the
amphiprotic character:
a
HSO3–
HSO3– is amphiprotic.
Acid:
Base:
b S2–
d
H2PO4–
H2PO4– is amphiprotic.
Acid:
Base
e H2O
H O is amphiprotic.
2
1 Describe the involvement of the following people in the discovery of acid and bases.
a Aristotle
Aristotle attempted to categorise substances, like other scientists of his time. One of the properties used to categorise
substances was taste, and so these scientists divided substances into sour, bitter, salty and sweet.
b Robert Boyle
Robert Boyle (1627–91) found that some plants changed colour when immersed in acids or bases.
c Antoine Lavoisier
Antoine Lavoisier (1743–94) was the first known chemist to make systematic attempts to classify and chemically
characterise acids and bases. He believed that acidity was caused by the presence of oxygen in a compound.
2 Research the history of acids and bases and construct a timeline of the main events.
Your timeline could include such dates and people as shown below.
1793 – Antoine Lavoisier made systematic attempts to classify and chemically characterise acids and bases.
1884 – Arrhenius Theory. Swedish physicist Svante Arrhenius developed a theory that acids are substances that
dissociate in water to yield hydrogen ions (H+) and that bases ionise in water to yield hydroxide ions (OH−).
1909 – Søren Sørensen developed the pH scale, which was the first time scientists had a way to define the
acidity of a substance.
1923 – Brønsted–Lowry Theory of acids and bases. These two scientists expanded on and revised the exact
definitions of acids and bases, which translate into our definitions today that an acid is a proton donor and a base a
proton acceptor.
1923 – Lewis Theory. An expansion of the Brønsted–Lowry theory that states an acid is a substance that can
accept an electron pair and a base is a substance that can donate one
1963 – Scientists discover acid rain in North America; pH measurements show that polluted rain is 100 times
more acidic than regular rain.
1980 – Silicon-chip pH meters that have no glass components are developed, now widely used in the food,
pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries, among many others.
A buffer solution is a solution that can resist changes in pH when small quantities of acids or bases are added. A
common example is a buffer solution of ethanoic acid and sodium ethanoate.
2 Describe the buffer response when a small amount of acid is added to human blood.
If a small amount of acid is added to blood, the acid reacts with the hydrogen carbonate anions present in blood:
This reaction controls the pH of the blood by removing excess hydronium ions that would lower the pH.
b Apply Le Châtelier’s principle and predict what would happen if a small amount of acid was added.
If acid was added, it would react with the OH–, removing product and causing the equilibrium to shift in a net forward
reaction. This partially opposes the decrease in concentration of OH – and in pH.
If a base was added the reaction would shift backward to partially oppose the increase in concentration of OH –.
Revision questions
The relative difficulty of these questions is indicated by the number of stars beside each question number: * = low;
** = medium; *** = high.
Multiple choice
C antacids
A milk
B vinegar
C egg white
D rain water
A 1000 times
B three times
C 10 000 times
D 3000 times.
Short answer
*4 Explain the difference between strong and weak acids and bases.
A weak acid does not completely ionise in water, whereas a strong acid completely ionises in water. A strong acid
donates all of its H+ ions to water molecules, whereas a weak acid will only donate some. Likewise, a strong base
completely ionises in water but a weak base only partly ionises.
pH is a measure of hydrogen ion (hydronium ion) concentration in a solution and therefore a measure of its acidity.
or
pOH is a measure of hydroxide ion concentration in a solution and consequently a measure of its basicity.
*6 Define ‘amphiprotic’.
An amphiprotic molecule or ion is one that can either donate or accept a proton, and therefore can act as an acid or
base.
A buffer solution contains appreciable amounts of a weak acid and its conjugate base, or a weak base and its conjugate
acid, in equilibrium. Therefore, when small amounts of acid or base are added, the equilibrium shifts and the buffer
solution can resist the change in pH.
• Blood buffers – bicarbonate (HCO3–) buffers metabolic acids, and haemoglobin Hb/HbH+ buffers CO2
• Agriculture – monopotassium phosphate – minimises pH fluctuations in soil and reduces nitrogen loss
• Shampoos and detergents – various buffers used to counteract the alkalinity of soaps on the skin
• Cell culture media – used in labs growing cells or using enzymes that are sensitive to pH
a 8.5
b 3.6
© Oxford University Press 2019 14
Chemistry for Queensland Units 3 & 4 Teacher obook assess ISBN 9780190313487
Permission has been granted for this page to be photocopied within the purchasing institution only.
c 10.2.
**10 Calculate the hydroxide ion concentration of a solution of NaOH with pH 12.0.
**12 Determine the conjugate bases of hydrogen sulfate ion (HSO4–) and phosphoric acid (H3PO4).
There are many different buffer solutions that you can choose from including: blood – bicarbonate (HCO 3–) buffers
metabolic acids, and haemoglobin Hb/HbH+ buffers CO2
Urine buffers: phosphate and ammonium ions; also many proteins act as buffers throughout various fluid systems
in the body.
The internet: is a great starting point for further research. Wikipedia and other general sites can be very useful
for getting a quick overview of a topic. But use them with caution – anyone can edit a Wikipedia page, whether they
are an expert in the area or not, so verify any information from sites such as this by checking a reputable source.
Reputable sources are ones the reader can trust. We trust that the author’s ideas are his or her own and can be
backed up with evidence.
Credible resources Non-credible resources
Scientific journals Blogs, Facebook and Twitter posts,
Websites from credible institutions, e.g. conspiracy websites and self-authored
EBSCO, JSTOR, CSIRO, Google Scholar, websites
National Geographic, NASA, university- Research articles without citations
affiliated institutions Websites without an author’s name, or with
Websites: The more information available, obvious pseudonyms
the more credible the website. Look for Websites with a vested interest or strong bias
specific authors (i.e. not anonymous), the Materials published over 15 years ago that
audience is clear, the purpose is informative have theories now out of date
and not biased, and the information is
Articles that have an obvious bias and are
published or regularly updated. Also look for
using information to persuade rather than
websites ending in .edu and .gov.
inform
Books and print journals: are not as up to date as online sources but ones printed in the last few years and from
reputable publishers and journals are useful. Check that the information is still current and correct.
***14 Investigate why for an aqueous solution at 25°C. Consider how this equation may differ with
a change in temperature.
In pure water, the concentration of H+ and OH– must be equal, as one water molecule produces one of each ion, i.e.
[H+] = [OH–].
Kw = [H+][OH–] and in pure water at 25°C, [H+] = 10–7 M. Therefore, [OH–] = 10–7 M.
As pH = –log [H+] and pOH = –log[OH–], at 25°C in pure water, pH = 7 and pOH = 7, so pH + pOH = 14.
Also,
Examples: