Acids, bases and buffers

An acid has a pH between 0 and 6.9. It turns litmus paper red, an easy way to think of this is by the stomach is red and the acid inside the stomach is very acidic. Acids are very corrosive. When you add an acid to water the acid adds more [H+] ions making the solution have a lower pH. For example, HCl--> H+ + Cl- 

A base has a pH between 7.1 and 14. It turns litmus paper blue. Bases are caustic and a way to tell it's a base is that they are slippery. When you add a base to a solution it will remove [H+] ions. This is because the base separates when it hits the solution and the OH pair up with an [H+] forming a water molecule, making the soliton have a higher pH level. An example is:    NaOH --> Na + OH then the OH connect with a H+ forming H2O.

 

A neutral solution is where the acids and bases are balenced (equal).

Buffers either absorb or give away an H+ ions until it is overloaded. Overloaded means that it can not take or give away any more H+ ions. When it is in an acidic solution, a buffer will absorb H+ ions. For example, H+ + CO3 2-  ---> HCO3 1- .

When it is in a basic solution, a buffer will donate H+ ions. For example, OH- + H2CO3 ----> H(OH) + HCO3 1-  

Usually a buffer has 3 or mot 'versions' of itself.