Acids and Bases in the pH Scale

Paper Summary:

This paper provides a detailed overview of acids and bases in the pH scale, including the history, characteristics, types, and Ka values with chemistry and biology applications. The paper covers seven main parts: the history starting with the Romans; the definition of both an acid and a base; the characteristics of acids and bases; types of acids and bases; how to determine an acid number; the relationship between acids and bases to the pH scale; and aqueous and self-ionization solutions. I. Introduction A. What do acids and alkalines have in common? 1.To test whether temperature affected the acidity of different liquids. 2. The complexity and fascination of such project. 3. If different types of liquids were utilized, then temperature would certainly make a difference, however minimal. II. History A. The history of acids have dated back centuries. 1. The Romans first coined the term acidus. 2. Lavoisier's work with acids. 3. Predecessors, such as Arrhenius. III. Definition of acid A. The definition of acids have been controversial at times. 1. The Arrhenius definition 2. The Bronsted definition 3. The Lewis definition IV. Characterizing acids in general B. The nature of acids 1. Sourness 2. Dissolving in water V. Types of Acids A. Strong acids 1. Fundamental characteristics. 2. Dangerous 3. Larger Ka values B. Weak acids 1. Fundamental characteristics 2. Smaller Ka values 3. Equilibrium watch VI. Characterizing Bases. A. Bases are the opposite of acids 1. The Arrhenius definition 2. Characteristics B. Strong and weak bases VII. Acidity A. Acid number has a lot of relation to everything else 1. Determining acid number 2. Acid numbers importance B. pH is the epitome of research 1. Aqueous solution 2. Self- ionization 3. Definitions

From the Paper:

"What do acids and alkaline truly have in common? The history of the understanding of an acid is relatively old. Dating back to the Roman Empire days, came the word that we derived acid from, acidus, meaning sour. Around the 1800s, French chemists erroneously believed that all acids contained oxygen, including the famed Antoine Lavoisier. Svante Arrhenius, a Swedish scientist in the mid 1800s and a Nobel laureate, did a few experimentations with acids, and came up with concocting a definitive, chemically sound definition of an acid. Later on, in the 20th century, the partners Bronsted and Lowry initiated theories about acids using and published the acid-based concept. The most pragmatic research of acids and bases came from the American chemist Gilbert Lewis. Ever since then, the idea of acids and base has been widely recognized, although the definitions of such terms have been rather controversial."

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