What is acid, base, and salt?

Acids

• The substances that taste sour are called acid and their nature is acidic.

• The term acid is derived from a Latin word acere which means sour.

• An acid is a molecule or ion capable of donating a proton, or, alternatively, capable of forming a covalent bond with an electron pair.

• Acid turns blue litmus paper to red. Acid is a substance that contains hydrogen ion (H+).

• Acids do not give colour with phenolphthalein indicator and do not absorb carbon dioxide gas. Also, acids do not react with an ammonium salt.

• Natural Acids are the acids that occur in nature, such as, acids present in fruits.

• Acids are generally found in Vinegar, Curd, Spinach, lemons, Citrus fruits, Amla, Tamarind, grapes, unripe mangoes, Citrus fruits such as oranges, etc.

• Acids reacts with Bases to give Salt and Water

Acid + Base --> Salt + Water

Base

• Any class of compounds that form hydroxyl ions (OH) when dissolved in water is called Base. 

• Its aqueous solutions react with acids to form salts. 

• Acid + Base --> Salt + Water.

• Bases turn red litmus paper blue and have a pH greater than 7.

• Some of the common bases are NH4OH, NaOH, KOH.

• Bases are Bitter in taste.

• Bases are Odorless (except ammonia).

• Bases are slippery.

• Bases react with fats and oils.

• It gives pink colour with phenolphthalein.

Salt

• A neutralization reaction is when an acid and a base react to form water and a salt

• It involves the combination of H+ ions and OH- ions to generate water. 

• When a solution is neutralized, it means that salts are formed from equal weights of acid and base.

• Acid + Base --> Salt + Water.

• Therefore salt is a combination of a metal ion and a non-metal ion.

• Eg: NaCl, KCl.