Acids, Bases and Salts

Many inorganic and organic compounds found in living organisms are ones that we use in our daily lives. They can be classified into one of three group’s acids, bases and salts. Almost all inorganic compounds and many organic compounds can be classified as acids, bases or salts. Acids and bases are strong chemicals and have opposite chemical properties. Acids have a sour taste while bases have bitter taste. When acids and bases react with each other, they form another class of compounds called salts.

Acids – Acids is a substance which produces hydrogen ions when dissolved in water. The word acid has been derived from a Latin word acidus which means sour. It is the hydrogen ions which makes the acid taste sour and turn blue litmus paper red. Hydrogen ions dissociate in aqueous solutions, so an acid will not show its characteristic properties unless water is present.

Bases – These compounds are chemically against acids. Bases have bitter taste. They are also called hydroxides as they have hydroxide group attached. Some bases are soluble in water, they are called alkalis. Alkalies turn red litmus paper blue. Antacid tablets contain magnesium hydroxide and carbonates which can neutralize the excess acid causing indigestion in our stomach.

Salts – Whenever an acid and base are brought together, water is always a product. A negative ion from the acid and a positive ion from a base are always left over. A salt is made up of a positively charged ion called a cation and a negatively charged ion called an anion.