Investigate Neutralisation

In this worksheet, students will look at acids and base alkalis, exploring how they both react to produce salts.

Key stage: KS 4

Year: GCSE

GCSE Subjects: Chemistry: Single Subject, Chemistry: Combined Science, Physical Sciences, Component 2: Concepts in Chemistry: Single Subject, Component 2: Concepts in Chemistry: Combined Science,

GCSE Boards: AQA, AQA Trilogy, AQA Synergy, OCR 21st Century, OCR Gateway, Pearson Edexcel, Eduqas,

Curriculum topic: Chemical Changes, Movement and Interactions, Making Useful Chemicals, Chemical Reactions, Chemistry of Acids

Curriculum subtopic: Reactivity of Acids Acids and Alkalis What Useful Products Can be Made from Acids? What Useful Products Can Be Made From Acids? Types of Chemical Reactions Acids Chemistry of Acids

Difficulty level:

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Worksheet Overview

Image of the pH scale

The diagram above shows the pH scale. Here are some facts about acids, bases and alkalis:

Neutral substances have a pH of 7.

A base is the opposite of an acid.

An alkali is a base which dissolves in water.

A base neutralises an acid.

The most common bases are metal oxides and metal hydroxides.

You can tell from the name whether a substance is a base or an acid, as acids always have the word 'acid' at the end.

You can see examples of names and a neutralisation reaction below:

sulfuric acid + sodium hydroxide sodium sulfate + water

A neutralisation reaction always produces a salt and water. The salt is made from the metal of the base and the non-metal of the acid. In the example above, the salt - sodium sulfate - is made of sodium (the metal from the base) and sulfur compound (the non-metal of the acid). There are three main acids you will use:

Nitric acid which produces nitrates.

Sulfuric acid which produces sulfates.

Hydrochloric acid which produces chlorides.

When an alkali is added to the acid, the pH rises until it becomes 7. It then rises above 7 when more alkali is added. When an acid is added to an alkali, the pH starts high but decreases as the acid neutralises the alkali. It becomes neutral and then falls below 7, turning acidic.

There are three general equations for neutralisation reactions:

acid + oxide salt + water

acid + hydroxide salt + water

acid + carbonate salt + water + carbon dioxide

Oxides contain oxygen, hydroxides contain the hydroxide group (OH^-) and carbonates contain the carbonate group (CO₃^-2).

We will now answer some questions on neutralisation and acids and alkalis.

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