Acids, Bases and Salts

We started with a recap of the Bronsted-Lowry definitions of acids, bases and amphiprotic species:

Then, we looked at the pH of some salts, comparing them to a control of NaCl (known to have a pH of 7.0):

We need to write chemical equations for the ions to justify the observed pH values (alkaline or acidic):

For example:

HCO₃^- + H₂O <=> H₂CO₃ + OH^-

This equation shows an increase in [OH^-], which is expected as the pH > 7.0