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Acid
A substance that has the potential to donate a proton (H+) or accept an electron pair.
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Acidic
Having a pH less than 7.
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Arrhenius Model
Arrhenius proposed that acids are substances that produce protons, H+, in aqueous solution, whereas bases produce hydroxide ions, OH-, in aqueous solution. Compare his model with the Bronsted-Lowry definition and the Lewis definition.
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Base
A substance that can accept a proton, release OH-, or donate an electron pair.
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Bronsted-Lowry Definition
Bronsted and Lowry define an acid as a proton (H+) donor and a base as a proton acceptor. Compare this model with the Arrhenius Model and the Lewis definition.
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Buffer
A solution composed of an acid and its conjugate base that serves to moderate the pH of the solution.
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Conjugate Acid
A molecule that can be described as a base that has gained one proton.
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Conjugate Base
A molecule that can be described as an acid that has lost one proton.
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Indicator
A molecule whose conjugate acid or conjugate base has a different color. Indicators are used to measure the pH of a solution.
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Lewis Definition
Lewis defined an acid as an electron pair acceptor and a base as an electron pair donor. Compare his model with the Arrhenius model and the Bronsted-Lowry definition.
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pH
A measure of the hydrogen ion concentration, it is equal to - log [H+], where [H+] is the concentration of protons.
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Redox
Short for "reduction-oxidation," a reaction that involves paired oxidation and reduction processes described in the Electrochemistry SparkNote.
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Titration
An experiment that neutralizes an unknown amount of acid or base with a known volume and concentration of acid or base to determine the amount of unknown acid or base.