Acids, Bases and Salts

Activity . Take solutions of glucose, alcohol, hydrochloric acid, sulphuric acid, etc. Fix two nails on a cork, and place the cork in a mL beaker. Connect the nails to the two terminals of a volt battery through a bulb and a switch, as shown in Fig.

. . Now pour some dilute HCl in the beaker and switch on the current. Repeat with dilute sulphuric acid.

What do you observe? Repeat the experiment separately with glucose and alcohol solutions. What do you observe now? Does the bulb glow in all cases?

Figure . Figure . Figure . Figure .

Figure . Acid solution in water conducts electricity The bulb will start glowing in the case of acids, as shown in Fig. . .

But you will observe that glucose and alcohol solutions do not conduct electricity. Glowing of the bulb indicates that there is a flow of electric current through the solution. The electric current is carried through the acidic solution by ions. Acids contain H + ion as cation and anion such as Cl – in HCl, NO – in HNO , SO – in H SO , CH COO – in CH COOH.

Since the cation present in acids is H + , this suggests that acids produce hydrogen ions, H + (aq), in solution, which are responsible for their acidic properties. Repeat the same Activity using alkalis such as sodium hydroxide, calcium hydroxide, etc. What can you conclude from the results of this Activity?