Reflection+of+science+topic+-+Acids+&+Bases



====This is a new chemistry topic for me and I have learnt quite a lot from this topic. Basically, for this topic, I learnt about what acids, alkaline and bases are. From what I learned, I know that an acid is a substance which produces hydrogen ions as the only positive ions when it is dissolved in water. Since hydrogen ions are acidic, that the acidity of the acid depends on how much of ionisation in water to from hydrogen ions. There are different types of acids, such as weak acids and strong acids. Weak acids are substances such as vinegar and lemon where human can usually consume. Whereas, strong acids are substances such as hydrogen chloride and hydrogen sulphate where mostly found only in science laboratory as it can cause harm to human. ====

====Then we went on to learn about alkalis and bases. So what are bases and alkalis? Bases are actually oxides or hydroxides of metal that reacts with an acid to from a salt and water only. And alkalis are metal hydroxides which are soluble in water and produces hydroxide ions in water. We can say that all alkalis are bases but not all bases are alkalis. ====

====I feel that this topic is not easy to learn. This is because this topic requires a lot of memorising and understanding of the whole topic. For example, we have to memorise well what are the properties of acids, alkalis and bases; the reactions with metals and other different substances. Also, we have to memorise the colour change of indicators to measure the PH level of acid, base and alkalis. While for the understanding of the topic, we have to understand why there are such changes when acids or bases react with metal or carbonates, what has caused the acidity level of a substance. However, I managed to learn the topic quite well by consistently revising the notes and worksheets that Ms Nada gave out. Also, whenever I did not understand certain parts of the topic, I managed to learn it by asking my peers to assist me. ====