Oxley College - Science

Year 10 Science: Worksheet on the reactions of acids

Important information:
 All acids contain the element hydrogen. It is this hydrogen that reacts with other elements.

 The common strong acids are …

i. hydrochloric acid (HCl)
ii. sulfuric acid (H2SO4)
iii. nitric acid (HNO3)

 Some common acids you will find in your home are …

i. vinegar (acetic acid)
ii. lemon juice (citric acid)
iii. cream of tartar (tartaric acid) from grapes

 hydrochloric acid produces chloride salts

sulfuric acid produces sulfate salts
nitric acid produces nitrate salts
acetic acid produces acetate salts

 Acids react with most metals to produce hydrogen and leave behind a salt

acid + metal  hydrogen gas + salt

 Acids react with the type of salt called carbonates to produce carbon dioxide, water and
also leave behind a salt

acid + carbonate  carbon dioxide gas + water + salt

 Acids react with bases to produce water and salt. This reaction is called neutralisation.

acid + base  water + salt

 Bases are corrosive compounds which are chemically opposite to acids. They all have the
OH group in their formula. Except for ammonium hydroxide they all have a metal in their
formula.
Some examples of common bases are …
i. sodium hydroxide NaOH – used in drain cleaner and oven cleaner
ii. ammonium hydroxide NH4 OH – used in window cleaner
iii. potassium hydroxide KOH
iv. calcium hydroxide Ca(OH)2 – slaked lime as used by bricklayers and plasterers

Alkalis are just soluble bases. Or, more correctly, the hydroxides of the metals in
the first group of the periodic table.

 Salts are compounds made of a metal and either a non-metal or a group of non-metals
called a polyatomic ion. Sulfate (SO42-), nitrate (NO3-), carbonate (CO32-), hydroxide (OH-)
and phosphate (PO43-) are common polyatomic ions.
___________________________________________
Exercises:

1. For each compound in the table below write down what elements are in the compound and how
many of each there are. A number as a subscript means there are that many of the element
e.g. H2SO4 means there are two hydrogens and four oxygens but one sulfur atom.
A number as a subscript after a polyatomic ion surrounded by parentheses () means that
everything inside the parentheses is multiplied by that number.
e.g. Mg(NO3)2 means there are 2 x 3 = 6 oxygens, 2 x 1 nitrogens and one magnesium
atom.

compound formula elements present

e.g. sulfuric acid H2 SO4 2 x hydrogen, 1 x sulfur, 4 x oxygen
acids

hydrochloric HCl Hydrogen, Chlorine

nitric HNO3 Hydrogen, Nitrogen, 3 Oxygen
acetic CH3COOH 2 Carbon, 4 Hydrogen, 2 Oxygen
sodium hydroxide NaOH Sodium, hydrogen, oxygen
bases

potassium hydroxide KOH Potassium, hydrogen, oxygen

ammonium hydroxide NH4OH Nitrogen, 5 Hydrogen, Oxygen
calcium hydroxide Ca(OH)2 Calcium, 2 Oxygen, 2 Hydrogen
sodium chloride NaCl Sodium, Chlorine
potassium sulfate K2 SO4 2 Potassium, Sulfur, 4 Oxygen
salts

ammonium nitrate NH4 NO3 2 Nitrogen, 4 Hydrogen, 3 Oxygen

calcium sulfate CaSO4 Calcium, Sulfur, 4 Oxygen
magnesium nitrate Mg(NO3)2 Magnesium, 2 Nitrogen, 6 Oxygen
zinc chloride ZnCl2 Zinc, 2 Chlorine

2. Metal + acid reactions:

e.g. What are the products of the reaction caused by adding magnesium to hydrochloric acid?

acid + metal  hydrogen + salt

hydrochloric acid + magnesium  hydrogen + magnesium chloride

In symbols this is …
2HCl + Mg  H2 + Mg Cl2

Note: Hydrogen always exists as a diatomic molecule (H2). This means there needs to be two HCl
molecules to make the equation balanced.

Try this one:

What are the products of the reaction between hydrochloric acid and zinc metal?

In words: hydrochloric acid + zinc  hydrogen + zinc chloride

In symbols: 2HCl + Zn  H2 + ZnCl2

Check your answers over the page.

Answer:

Now try these: (At least have a go in pencil so you can correct them later)

1. Sodium metal plus hydrochloric acid

In words: Sodium + Hydrochloric Acid  Sodium Chloride + Hydrogen

In symbols: Na + 2HCl  NaCl2 + H2

2. Potassium metal plus nitric acid

In words: Potassium + Nitric Acid  Potassium Nitrate + Hydrogen

In symbols: 2K + 2HNO3  2KNO3 + H2

3. Magnesium metal plus nitric acid

In words: Magnesium + Nitric Acid  Magnesium Nitrate + Hydrogen

In symbols: 2Mg + 2HNO3  Mg(NO3)2 + 2H

4. Calcium metal plus sulfuric acid

In words: Calcium + Sulfuric Acid  Calcium Sulfate + Hydrogen

In symbols: Ca + H2SO4  CaSO4 + H2

5. Zinc metal plus nitric acid

In words: Zinc + Nitric Acid  Zinc Nitrate + Hydrogen

In symbols: Zn + 2HNO3  Zn(NO3)2 + H2

6. Calcium metal plus hydrochloric acid

In words: Calcium + Hydrochloric Acid  Calcium Chloride + Hydrogen

In symbols: Ca + 2HCl  CaCl2 + H2

7. Sodium metal plus sulfuric acid

In words: Sodium + Sulfuric Acid  Sodium Sulfate + Hydrogen

In symbols: 2Na + H2SO4  Na2SO4 + H2

3. Acid plus carbonate reactions:
e.g. What are the products of the reaction of sodium carbonate with hydrochloric acid?
In words: Sodium Carbonate + Hydrochloric Acid  Sodium Chloride + Carbon dioxide + water

In symbols: Na2CO3 + 2HCL  H2O + CO2 + 2NaCl

Try these …
1. Hydrochloric acid is added to calcium carbonate CaCO3
In words:

In symbols:

2. Sulfuric acid is added to potassium carbonate K2 CO3

In words:

In symbols:

3. Nitric acid is added to magnesium carbonate Mg CO3

In words:

In symbols:

4. Acid plus base reactions :

e.g. What are the products of the reaction between hydrochloric acid and sodium hydroxide?
In words: Hydrochloric acid + sodium hydroxide  Sodium Chloride + water

In symbols: HCl + NaOH  NaCl + H2O

Try these …
1. hydrochloric acid plus potassium hydroxide
In words:

In symbols:

2. sulfuric acid plus calcium hydroxide

In words:

In symbols:

3. nitric acid plus ammonium hydroxide

In words:

In symbols:
ANSWERS

compound formula elements present

e.g. sulfuric acid H2 SO4 2 x hydrogen, 1 x sulfur, 4 x oxygen
acids

hydrochloric HCl 1 x hydrogen, 1 x chlorine

nitric HNO3 1 x hydrogen, 1 x nitrogen, 3 x oxygen
acetic CH3COOH 2 x carbon, 4 x hydrogen, 2 x oxygen
sodium hydroxide NaOH 1 x sodium, 1 x oxygen, 1 x hydrogen
bases

potassium hydroxide KOH 1 x potassium, 1 x oxygen, 1 x hydrogen

ammonium hydroxide NH4OH 1 x nitrogen, 1 x oxygen, 5 x hydrogen
calcium hydroxide Ca(OH)2 1 x calcium, 2 x oxygen, 2 x hydrogen
sodium chloride NaCl 1 x sodium, 1 x chlorine
potassium sulfate K2 SO4 2 x potassium, 1 x sulfur, 4 x oxygen
salts

ammonium nitrate NH4 NO3 2 x nitrogen, 4 x hydrogen, 3 x oxygen

calcium sulfate CaSO4 1 x calcium, 1 x sulfur, 4 x oxygen
magnesium nitrate Mg(NO3)2 1 x magnesium, 2 x nitrogen, 6 x oxygen
zinc chloride ZnCl2 1 x zinc, 2 x chlorine

Answer:
hydrochloric acid + zinc  hydrogen + zinc chloride

2HCl + Zn  H2 + ZnCl2

Now try these: (At least have a go in pencil so you can correct them later)

1. Sodium metal plus hydrochloric acid

In words: hydrochloric acid + sodium  hydrogen + sodium chloride

In symbols: 2HCl(aq) + 2Na(s)  H2(g) + 2NaCl(aq)

2. Potassium metal plus nitric acid

In words: nitric acid + potassium  hydrogen + potassium nitrate

In symbols: 2HNO3(aq) + 2K(s)  H2(g) + 2KNO3(aq)

3. Magnesium metal plus nitric acid

In words: nitric acid + magnesium  hydrogen + magnesium nitrate

In symbols: 2HNO3(aq) + Mg(s)  H2(g) + Mg(NO3)2(aq)

4. Calcium metal plus sulfuric acid

In words: sulfuric acid + calcium  hydrogen + calcium sulfate

In symbols: H2SO4(aq) + Ca(s)  H2(g) + CaSO4(aq)

5. Zinc metal plus nitric acid
In words: nitric acid + zinc  hydrogen + zinc nitrate

In symbols: 2HNO3(aq) + Zn(s)  H2(g) + Zn(NO3)2(aq)

6. Calcium metal plus hydrochloric acid

In words: hydrochloric acid + calcium  hydrogen + calcium chloride

In symbols: 2HCl(aq) + Ca(s)  H2(g) + CaCl2(aq)

7. Sodium metal plus sulfuric acid

In words: sulfuric acid + sodium  hydrogen + sodium sulfate

In symbols: H2SO4(aq) + 2Na(s)  H2(g) + Na2SO4(aq)

3. Acid plus carbonate reactions:

e.g. What are the products of the reaction of sodium carbonate with hydrochloric acid?

In words: sodium carbonate + hydrochloric acid  carbon dioxide + water + sodium chloride

In symbols: Na2CO3(s) + 2HCl(aq)  CO2(g) + H2O(l) + 2NaCl(aq)

Try these …
1. Hydrochloric acid is added to calcium carbonate CaCO3
In words: : calcium carbonate + hydrochloric acid  carbon dioxide + water + calcium chloride

In symbols: CaCO3(s) + 2HCl(aq)  CO2(g) + H2O(l) + CaCl2(aq)

2. Sulfuric acid is added to potassium carbonate K2 CO3

In words: : potassium carbonate + sulfuric acid  carbon dioxide + water + potassium sulfate

In symbols: K2CO3(s) + 2HCl(aq)  CO2(g) + H2O(l) + 2KCl(aq)

3. Nitric acid is added to magnesium carbonate Mg CO3

In words: : magnesium carbonate + nitric acid  carbon dioxide + water + magnesium nitrate

In symbols: MgCO3(s) + 2HCl(aq)  CO2(g) + H2O(l) + MgCl2(aq)

4. Acid plus base reactions :
e.g. What are the products of the reaction between hydrochloric acid and sodium hydroxide?
In words: hydrochloric acid + sodium hydroxide  water + sodium chloride

In symbols: HCl(aq) + NaOH(aq)  H2O(l) + NaCl(aq)

Try these …
1. hydrochloric acid plus potassium hydroxide
In words: hydrochloric acid + potassium hydroxide  water + potassium chloride

In symbols: HCl(aq) + KOH(aq)  H2O(l) + KCl(aq)

2. sulfuric acid plus calcium hydroxide

In words: sulfuric acid + calcium hydroxide  water + calcium sulfate

In symbols: H2SO4(aq) + Ca(OH)2(aq)  H2O(l) + CaSO4(aq)

3. nitric acid plus ammonium hydroxide

In words: nitric acid + ammonium hydroxide  water + ammonium nitrate

In symbols: HNO3(aq) + NH4OH(aq)  H2O(l) + NH4NO3(aq)