Essay On Acids And Bases

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Almost every solution one may find will have either acidic or basic qualities. A lot of the things that human being eat and drink have different pH levels, which is why it is so important for humans to be knowledgeable on the difference between acids and bases to be able to balance the pH levels in their bodies to remain healthy. For one to determine whether or not a substance is an acid or a base, they first must know the types of ions the substance contains. Due to how wide the range is from a very acidic solution to a very basic solution scientists created a scale, the pH scale, to measure how acidic or basic a substance is more easily.
A Swedish chemist Svante Arrhenius came up with the theory of how to tell the difference between a base and an acid in 1887. His experiments illustrated that if you put molecules in water they would either release a hydrogen ion or a hydroxide ion. A compound that releases hydrogen ions when placed in a water based solution is considered acidic. A compound that releases hydroxide ions when placed in a water based solution is considered basic, or alkaline. Therefore if a compound is neither acidic nor basic, it is considered to be neutral. Due to the fact that acids have hydrogen ions that bases need and bases have hydroxide ions that acids need, the two together can help neutralize themselves. Johannes Nicolaus Brønsted and Thomas Martin Lowry, two chemists from Denmark and England, expressed a different way to look at things in They described acids and bases as donors and acceptors due to the fact that acids “donate” hydrogen ions and acids “accept” hydrogen ions. An American chemist, Gilbert Lewis, also had his own theory of how to distinguish acids from bases. His ideas were based solely on...

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...th a color key that represents a different level of pH on the pH scale.
Acids and bases are present in everyday life. There are many acids and bases that one naturally overlooks daily; such as common household cleaning products and fruits. Chemicals that are close to either 0 or 14 on the pH scale qualify as very basic or very acidic. These very dangerous, but helpful, chemicals are called “reactive”. The human body has many acids and bases that are key to how it functions. For example, hydrochloric acids help the human body to digest food and kills bacteria to keep the body from getting sick. The proteins that are used to help the human body to survive are constructed by amino acids. Many plants and animals contain acids and bases as well. Citrus fruits are one of the popular groups of fruits that have citric acids in their juice, which gives them a sour taste.

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