acids and bases: Properties

Acids in water solutions exhibit the following common properties: they taste sour; turn litmus paper red; and react with certain metals, such as zinc, to yield hydrogen gas. Bases in water solutions exhibit these common properties: they taste bitter; turn litmus paper blue; and feel slippery. When a water solution of acid is mixed with a water solution of base, water and a salt are formed; this process, called neutralization, is complete only if the resulting solution has neither acidic nor basic properties.

Sections in this article:

• Introduction
• The Lewis Theory
• The Brönsted-Lowry Theory
• The Arrhenius Theory
• Acid-Base Theories
• Classification
• Properties

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