Acids & Bases Blog #8

Acids
Acids are basically substances that produce hydronium ions (H3O+), when you add the substances to water. Acids are known to have a sour taste and be corrosive to metal. If the substance is acidic, a litmus paper will become red. There is two types of acids, strong acids and weak acids. For every molecule in a strong acid there is one H3O+ ion created and for all the molecules in a weak acids there are only a few H3O+ .

Bases
Bases are substances that produce hydroxide ions (OH- ) when it is added to water. A base's characteristic's are described as slippery and a taste that's bitter. If the substance is basic, a litmus paper will become blue.There is two types of bases as well, strong bases and weak bases. A strong base has a 1:1 ratio and a base molecule creates one OH- ion. In a weak base, only a few OH- ions are created for all molecules.

pH
A pH test is used to describe the relative acidity of a solution. To find the pH of a substance you used the following equation: pH= -log10 (H+).