Introduction

 

Acids and bases play essential roles in chemistry because almost all chemical reactions (except redox reactions) are classified as acid-base reaction. They are present in many of the things we use everyday. What are some examples of them?

examples of acid and base

(There are some misconceptions that acids and bases are harmful but almost everything that we consume contains them. How true is that??)

 

Origin of acid

Long time ago, the Greeks defined certain substances based on their taste. They had found that one particular substance was very sour.  The substance, now known as vinegar, was made from the fermentation of fruits to produce wine. This discovery had led to the formation of a new category of substances, substances that were sour tasting. The sour substances were later found to have dissolving properties when one particular sour substance was used to separate gold from silver. This resulted in a new term being created to name the sour substances. From the Latin word acidus, which means “sour”, the term acid was developed. This word was then used to define sour tasting substances that had dissolving properties.

Apart from vinegar, the ancient Greeks had made another discovery – slippery substances from the remains of certain materials after burning. The substances were potash, soda and lime. Potash and soda were produced from wood and plant ashes while lime was produced from burning seashells. A new terminology was developed later to define the slippery substances. From the Arabic word al-qaliy, which means “the ashes”, the term alkaline was developed. This word was then used to speak about things that felt slippery.

 


References:

Content:

https://www1.umn.edu/ships/modules/chem/acids.doc

Pictures:

http://www.stevesdiy.co.uk/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=913

http://www.dreamstime.com/royalty-free-stock-images-detergent-image23731239

http://ancienthistory.mrdonn.org/Ideas.html

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