Acids, bases and salts – What you should know by the end of this unit

8.1 The characteristic properties of acids and bases
– describe the characteristic properties of acids as reactions with metals, bases, carbonates and effect on litmus
- define acids and bases in terms of proton transfer, limited to aqueous solutions
- describe the meaning of weak and strong acids and bases

– describe the characteristic properties of bases as reactions with acids and with ammonium salts and effect on litmus
– describe neutrality and relative acidity and alkalinity in terms of pH (whole numbers only) measured using Universal Indicator paper
– describe and explain the importance of controlling acidity in soil
8.2 Types of oxides
– classify oxides as either acidic or basic, related to metallic and non-metallic character
– further classify other oxides as neutral or amphoteric
8.3 Preparation of salts
– describe the preparation, separation and purification of salts as examples of some of the techniques specified in section 2.2 (b) and the reactions specified in section 8.1
– describe the preparation of insoluble salts by precipitation
– suggest a method of making a given salt from suitable starting materials, given appropriate information