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Chemistry vocabulary · Acids, Bases and Salts

Acid

Meaning in chemistry, with examples

/ˈæsɪd/nounCore term

In chemistry, acid means: A substance that releases hydrogen ions (H⁺) in water or, more generally, donates protons. Its water solutions have a pH below 7 and turn blue litmus paper red.

In Turkish: asit

How it is used

A basic word in every chemistry course. Acids are strong or weak, concentrated or dilute, and react with bases, metals and carbonates. Common lab acids are hydrochloric, sulfuric, nitric and acetic acid.

Example sentences

  1. Always add acid to water, never water to acid.

  2. Hydrochloric acid reacts with zinc to give hydrogen gas.

Common collocations

  • strong acid
  • weak acid
  • dilute acid
  • concentrated acid
  • acid–base reaction
  • baseA substance that accepts protons (H⁺) or releases hydroxide ions (OH⁻) in water. Its solutions have a pH above 7 and turn red litmus paper blue.
  • pHA scale, usually from 0 to 14, that shows how acidic or basic a solution is. Below 7 is acidic, 7 is neutral at 25 °C and above 7 is basic; it equals −log[H⁺].
  • strong acidAn acid that ionizes almost completely in water, releasing nearly all of its hydrogen ions. Hydrochloric, nitric and sulfuric acid are common examples.
  • neutralizationThe reaction between an acid and a base that produces a salt and water and brings the pH closer to 7.
  • indicatorA substance that changes color at a certain pH or at the end of a reaction, used to show when a titration is complete. Phenolphthalein and methyl orange are common examples.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Acids, Bases and Salts

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