Acids, bases, and pH
What students will learn
Follow proton transfer and conjugate-pair equilibrium to explain pH, acid/base strength and pH-dependent dissolution.
Before this topic
- Chemical equilibrium, Q/K and checked concentration changes
- Solution concentration and dilution
- Lewis structures, resonance and logarithms
Read and connect
Read: Introduction to Acid-Base Reactions →
Identify the actual proton donor and acceptor and follow charge through conjugate pairs.
Read: Introduction to Acids and Bases →
Use pH, pOH and the temperature-dependent water equilibrium without treating either ion as absent.
Read: pH and pOH of Strong Acids and Bases →
Determine strong-acid/base ion populations after dilution under a justified concentration model.
Read: Weak Acid and Base Equilibria →
Solve weak-acid and weak-base equilibria, check depletion and connect conjugate constants.
Read: Molecular Structure of Acids and Bases →
Identify structural proton sites and explain strength through the resulting conjugate species.
Read: pH and pKa →
Use pH minus pKa to explain dominant protonation forms; revisit indicator selection with titration curves.
Before this connection: Weak conjugate-pair equilibrium and logarithmic ratios; For the indicator application, read Buffers and titrations.
Read: pH and Solubility →
Couple dissolution and proton-transfer equations, distinguishing free ions in Ksp from total dissolved material.
Before this connection: Chemical equilibrium: dissolution equations, Q versus K, and molar solubility.
Supporting reading: Introduction to Solubility Equilibria →
Revisit dissolution stoichiometry and the free-ion quotient before pH-dependent solubility.
Supporting reading: Common-Ion Effect →
Contrast a common-ion addition with removal of a free ion by proton transfer.
Supporting reading: Acid-Base Reactions and Buffers →
Connect proton transfer to a mixed-solution species ledger before the buffer and titration chapter.
Supporting reading: Resonance and Formal Charge →
Revisit resonance and charge accounting before comparing conjugate-base stabilization.
Check understanding
Use the complete prompt to make student reasoning visible, then consult the separate worked reasoning and criteria. A reading completion tick records reading history.
Solve a weak-base equilibrium and explain its particles →
Find the produced hydroxide, test the approximation and describe major species and conjugate acidity.
Connect acid/base strength to structures and proton sites →
Draw or describe conjugate species, explain resonance and induction, and distinguish hydroxide dissociation from unlimited solubility.
Explain pH-dependent solubility in both directions →
Write linked proton-transfer and dissolution equations, trace the free-ion quotient and distinguish free from total dissolved material.
Qualitative supplied single-solid models only. Numerical solubility-versus-pH calculations and competing-phase generalizations are outside this task’s scope.
Standards and earlier reading lists
These topic placements organize reading. Edition-qualified Standards mappings and the existing complete unit task sets retain their reviewed scope.