Key Concepts and Summary
The ions composing salts may possess acidic or basic character, ionizing when dissolved in water to yield acidic or basic solutions. Acidic cations are typically the conjugate partners of weak bases, and basic anions are the conjugate partners of weak acids. Many metal ions bond to water molecules when dissolved to yield complex ions that may function as acids.
Determine whether aqueous solutions of the following salts are acidic, basic, or neutral:
(a) Al(NO3)3
(b) RbI
(c) KHCO2
(d) CH3NH3Br
Determine whether aqueous solutions of the following salts are acidic, basic, or neutral:
(a) FeCl3
(b) K2CO3
(c) NH4Br
(d) KClO4
Solution
(a) acidic; (b) basic; (c) acidic; (d) neutral
Novocaine, C13H21O2N2Cl, is the salt of the base procaine and hydrochloric acid. The ionization constant for procaine is $7×10^{-6}$. Is a solution of novocaine acidic or basic? Determine the [H3O+], [OH−], and pH of a 2.0% solution by mass of novocaine, assuming that the density of the solution is 1.0 g/mL.