Chapter 17: Acids and Bases Introduction

You may recall the simple explanation from Chapter 5 that acids produce hydrogen ions (protons), and bases produce hydroxide ions. In this chapter new definitions of acids and bases are provided. Acids are now described as "proton donors," and bases are "proton acceptors." These definitions expand the number and type of compounds that classify acids and bases. They also help us interpret more reactions as being acid-base neutralizations.

Along with these new definitions, the pH scale is introduced. Most acids are in equilibrium with other ions. To examine this equilibrium in detail, we continue to make use of the algebra introduced in Chapter 16. The good news is that there are a few shortcuts that often help us to avoid the need to solve quadratic equations. We will often want to use these shortcuts because they are so simple and fast, but be careful! In some instances, the only way to solve a problem is to apply the full method and solve the quadratic equation.

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