Acids and bases react with one another by
neutralisation.
That is, the products of the reaction are both less acidic and less basic than the reactants.
How do I identify which compound is an acid and a base?Acids have the word acid in their name.
The bases in this activity are ionic compounds with a metal cation and a basic anion.
Which anions are basic?OH– (hydroxide ion) accepts one H
+ from an acid to give H
2O.
O2– (oxide ion) accepts two H
+ from an acid to give H
2O.
Two products are formed in the reaction.
One is water.
The other is a compound containing the metal as the cation and the anion from the acid.
Coefficients may have to be added to balance the equation so that the number and types of atoms are the same on both sides of the reaction. See the examples below:
Example of metal hydroxide reacting with sulfuric acid: 2KOH + H2SO4 → K2SO4 + 2H2O
Example of metal oxide reacting with hydrochloric acid: MgO + 2HCl → MgCl2 + H2O
CO32– (carbonate ion) accepts 2H
+ to give H
2CO
3.
HCO3– (hydrogencarbonate ion) accepts H
+ to give H
2CO
3.
The product of their reaction with acid is carbonic acid (H
2CO
3) which decomposes to water (H
2O) and carbon dioxide (CO
2).
The reaction of metal carbonates or metal hydrogencarbonates with acid has three products.
One is water.
A second is carbon dioxide.
The third is a compound containing the metal as the cation and the anion from the acid.
Example of metal carbonate reacting with hydrochloric acid: PbCO3 + 2HCl → H2O + CO2 + PbCl2
Example of metal hydrogencarbonate reacting with sulfuric acid: 2KHCO3 + H2SO4 → 2H2O + 2CO2 + K2SO4