What is the difference between acids and bases and amphoteric salts?

Answer 1

Acids cause solutions to have extra hydrogen ions (H+), bases cause it to have extra hydroxide ions (OH-).

In just regular water, there are always a few broken water molecules floating around, hydrogens missing their electron (H+) and hydrogen-oxygen groups with an extra electron (OH-). Normally these exist in equal amounts, with a concentration each of 10-7 moles per liter. Take -log10(H+) concentration, and you get pH, so neutral water has a pH of 7.

Add an acid to water, such as hydrochloric acid (HCl) to the water, and there will be a surplus of H+ ions, like maybe 100 times as many as before, or 10-5 moles per liter, so now the solution has a pH of 5.

On the other hand, add a little lye (NaOH) and you have a surplus of OH-. Now there might be 100 times fewer hydrogens than there were before, so or 10-9 of them, so now the pH is 9.

In general, salts are ionic compounds that are composed of metallic ions and nonmetallic ions. For example, sodium chloride is composed of metallic sodium ions and nonmetallic chloride ions. Some salts are composed of metallic polyatomic ions and nonmetallic polyatomic ions (ammonium nitrate is composed of ammonium ions and nitrate ions).

Here are some examples for you:

- HNO₃ is an acid. We know this because of the 'H' - NaCl is a salt. It is sodium chloride, the forumla for typical table salt. - Ca(OH)₂ is a base. We know this because of the 'OH'

I know that acids, bases and salts can be a tricky topic to tackle.

Cheers!

Answer 2

An acid and a base could to told apart by litmus paper and salt can be used in foods (depending on the type of salt)

Answer 3

Salts are the products of reactions between acids and bases.