About this book
Answers at your fingertips to the essentials of a subject that is challenging at best and that many students struggle with. The 6 page laminated guide focuses on physical chemistry with the details and structure of the subject organized and designed to be a key to the answers that are further supported by your texts and lectures. Use as a review before testing, or as a memory companion that keeps your mind focused on the whole course daily, weekly, or as needed before exams. Suggested uses:
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Information

- Acids produce H+ ions in aqueous solutions HCl (aq) → H+ (aq) + Cl- (aq)
- H+ ions react with water to form H3O+ (hydronium) ions
- Bases produce OH- ions in aqueous solutions NaOH (aq) → Na+ (aq) + OH- (aq)
- Acids and bases form water and neutralize each other H+ (aq) + OH- (aq) → H2O (l)
- Acids are proton (H+) donors HCl (aq) + H2O (l) → H3O+ (aq) + Cl- (aq)
- HCl is an acid because it donated a H+ to H2O
- Bases are proton (H+) acceptors NH3 (aq) + H2O (l) → NH4+ (aq) + OH- (aq)
- NH3 is a base because it accepted the H+ from H2O
- Conjugate acid-base pairs: Transfer of a proton H2SO4 (aq) + H2O (l) → HSO4- (aq) + H3O+ (aq)

- Transfer of electron pairs
- Acids are electron pair acceptors
- Bases are electron pair donors
- A substance doesn’t need to contain hydrogen to be an acid

- BF3 has an empty orbital and can accept an electron pair from NH3
- The product of a Lewis acid-base reaction is called an adduct
- The Lewis definition creates a new class of acids
- Lewis acids have empty orbitals
- Molecules with incomplete octets act as Lewis acids
- Molecules with complete octets act as Lewis acids and may rearrange electrons
- Some cations act as Lewis acids and have empty octets
- Strong acids completely ionize in a solution HCl (aq) + H2O (l) → H3O+ (aq) + Cl- (aq)
- A 1.0 M HCl solution has [H3O+] of 1.0 M
- Weak acids partially ionize in a solution HF (aq) + H2O (l) ↔ H3O+ (aq) + F- (aq)
- A 1.0 M solution HF has [H3O+] less than 1.0 M
- General formula: HA (aq) + H2O (l) ↔ H3O+ (aq) + A- (aq)HA (aq) ↔ H+ (aq) + A- (aq)
- Autoionization: Water acts as an acid and a base H2O (l) ↔ H+ (aq) + OH- (aq)Kw = [H3O+][OH-] = [H+][OH-] = 1.0×10-14
- Neutral solution: [H3O+] = [OH-] = 1.0×10-7 M at 25°C
- Acidic solution: [H3O+] > [OH-]
- Basic solution: [H3O+] < [OH-]
- pH: Measure of the acidity of a solution pH = -log [H3O+]
- pH > 7: Basic solution
- pH < 7: Acidic solution
- pH = 7: Neutral solution
- pOH: Uses [OH-] pOH = -log [OH-]
- pOH < 7: Basic solution
- pOH > 7: Acidic solution
- pOH = 7: Neutral solution
- pH + pOH = 14.00 at 25°C
- pKa = -log Ka
- Small Ka: Strong acid
- The relative strength of weak acids is determined by the acid ionization constant
[H3O+][A−] |
[HA] |
- ICE charts: Compare initial concentrations, changes, and concentrations at equilibrium HA (aq) + H2O (l) ↔ H3O+ (aq) + A- (aq), where: [HA] is 0.10 M
- The initial [H3O+] is roughly 0.00—a small amount from the autoionization of water
[H3O+][A−] |
[HA] |
x2 |
0.10 − x |
-
-
- x is the amount of HA ionized
- x is usually very small and can be ignored in most circumstances
- If x isn’t very small, use the quadratic equation to solve
-
[HA] | [H3O+] | [A-] | |
| Initial | 0.10 | ~0.00 | 0.00 |
| Change | -x | +x | +x |
| Equilibrium | 0.10 − x | x | x |
- Percent ionization: Weak acids; percent of the initial acid that ionizes
- Percent ionization =
× 100%(Concentration of ionized acid)(Initial concentration of acid)
- Percent ionization =
- Strong bases completely dissociate
- NaOH (aq) → Na+ (aq) + OH- (aq)
- Most strong bases are in group 1A or 2A of the periodic table
- Weak bases don’t completely dissociate NH3 (aq) + H2O (l) ↔ NH4+ (aq) + OH- (aq)
- Base ionization constant: Kb
- Generic formula: B (aq) + H2O (l) ↔ BH+ (aq) + OH- (aq)Kb =[BH+][OH-][B]Ka× Kb = Kw = 1.0 × 0-14 at 25°CpKa + pKb = 14
- Salt: Result of the neutralization of an acid and base; ionic compound
- Has both a cation and an anion
- Can form acids, bases, or neutral solutions in water
- When the cation and anion are both neutral, it forms a pH neutral solution in water
- When the cation is neutral and the anions are a conjugate base of weak acid, it forms a basic soluti...
Table of contents
- Intermolecular Forces
- Changes in Matter
- Solutions
- Chemical Kinetics
- Acids & Bases
- Thermodynamics
- Electrochemistry
- Radioactivity
