Acids and Bases Cheat Sheet

The core ideas of Acids and Bases distilled into a single, scannable reference — perfect for review or quick lookup.

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Quick Reference

A proton (H+) donor in a chemical reaction.

A proton (H+) acceptor in a chemical reaction.

Negative log of hydrogen ion concentration: pH=-log[H+].

Equilibrium constant for weak acid dissociation: Ka=[H+][A-]/[HA].

pH=pKa+log([A-]/[HA]) for buffer solutions.

Solution resisting pH change, containing weak acid and its conjugate base.

Plot of pH vs volume of titrant added, showing equivalence point.

Electron pair acceptor.

Acid:Substance that donates protons (Bronsted-Lowry) or accepts electron pairs (Lewis).

Base:Substance that accepts protons (Bronsted-Lowry) or donates electron pairs (Lewis).

pH:Negative logarithm of hydrogen ion concentration: pH = -log[H+].

pOH:Negative logarithm of hydroxide concentration: pOH = -log[OH-]. pH + pOH = 14 at 25C.

Ka:Acid dissociation constant measuring strength of a weak acid.

Kb:Base dissociation constant measuring strength of a weak base.

Buffer:Solution that resists changes in pH when small amounts of acid or base are added.

Henderson-Hasselbalch:pH = pKa + log([A-]/[HA]) for buffer calculations.

Equivalence Point:Point in titration where moles of acid equal moles of base.

Conjugate Pair:Acid-base pair differing by one proton: HA/A-.

Kw:Ion product of water: Kw = [H+][OH-] = 1.0e-14 at 25C.

Polyprotic Acid:Acid capable of donating more than one proton per molecule.

Lewis Acid:Species that accepts an electron pair to form a coordinate bond.

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