Acids, Bases, and SaltsBy Alicia Zelin Chen

Contents

1. Main Idea 13. THANK YOU!!!

2. Vocabulary

3. Summary of Lesson

4. Acids

5. Bases

6. pH

7. Salts

8. Litmus Paper

9. Beyond the Book

10. Acid Examples

11. How to Tell One From Another

12. POP QUIZ!!!

Main Idea

Acids, Bases, and salts are classes of compounds, each with characteristic properties. The strengths of acids and bases are measured with the pH scale.

Vocabulary

Acid: a compound that typically releases hydrogen ions.

Base: a compound that typically receives hydrogen ions.

Indicator: a substance used to show the presence of an acid or base in a substance.

pH: a value which you can use to measure the strength of acids and bases.

Salt: salts are compounds typically made from a metal and a nonmetal.

Summary of Lesson

Acids

Lemon juice and vinegar both taste sour because they contain acids.

Vinegar contains acetic acid. Your stomach uses hydrochloric acid to digest food.

Acids taste sour, turn blue litmus paper red, release hydrogen ions, and react easily with bases.

Bases

Soap and shampoo taste very bitter. They contain a base.

Many household cleaners and detergents contain very strong bases.

The properties of bases are mostly: they taste bitter, they turn red litmus paper blue, accept H+ ions, and react easily with acids.

pH

To measure the strength of acids and bases, scientists use a value called pH.

pH stands for the potential of hydrogen.

7 is the pH of pure water. Acids have a pH lower than 7. Bases have a pH higher than 7.

Salts

When a strong acid and base react, one compound they form is a salt. Salts are made from a metal and a non-metal.

Many salts have high melting points, and most, but not all, salts dissolve quickly in water.

Sodium chloride is the salt that you use at the dinner table. In everyday language, salt usually refers to this one compound, but there are many more salts.

Litmus Paper

A good way to tell acids and bases apart is to use litmus paper.

Acids will turn blue litmus paper red, while bases will turn red litmus paper blue.

Neutral substances will cause the color of the litmus paper to stay the color it is.

Beyond the Book

Acid Examples

Acids taste sour, so that’s why lemon juice and vinegar taste sour.

Usually, acids are in car batteries, as well as apples.

Your stomach contains acid too: hydrochloric acid.

How to Tell One From Another

Acids turn blue litmus paper red, taste sour, release hydrogen ions, and react easily with bases.

Bases however, taste bitter, turn red litmus paper blue, accept hydrogen ions, and react easily with acids.

POP QUIZ!!!

1. What is an example of an acid?

a. My cat

b. Lemon juice

c. A paint stain

d. SpongeBob Squarepants

2.What is a Base?

a. Soapb. Your dirty socksc. Cabbaged. Patrick Star

THANK YOU!!! ;) ;)