Properties of Acids and Bases
Acids can be distinguished from bases on the basis of observable properties. You will have to make such distinctions in this question in order to determine which two representations are characteristic of acids and which are characteristic of bases. This Question Group will focus on the following three contrasting properties:
pH Scale
Acid and base solutions can have their pH value tested. This refers to a number that provides an indicator of how they shift the H-OH components of water. To keep it simple, acids have a low pH ... less than 7 (in aqueous solutions at 25°C) and bases have a high pH ... greater than 7 (in aqueous solutions at 25°C).
Litmus Paper Test
One of the quickest test to determine if a solution is an acid or a base is the litmus paper test. This involves dipping a special strip of paper (known as litmus paper) into the solution and observing the color of the paper. Litmus paper will turn red in acid solutions and blue in base solutions.
Check the Bottle
In a lab environment, acids and bases are dispensed in some sort of container. The container should be labeled and often it is labeled with the formula of its contents. The formula can be a tip-off as to whether the contents the contents of the bottle are acidic or basic. Acid formulas are typically written as HA where A is some anion accompanying the Hydrogen cation. And while not every base has the formula format of MOH (where M is the symbol of some metal ion), seeing that formula is a near certain indicator that the bottle contains a base.