Acids are substances that break apart in water in a way
that releases H+, also known as hydronium, ions. Hydronium ions are basically just a
proton, and they will react with anything that they can pull an electron off of, for
instance a metal. Since electrons are one of the basic particles that make up atoms,
removing them from things can be a powerful reaction; we use this reaction in many
processes, from helping to break down food in the stomach to storing electricity in car
batteries.
Bases are substances that release OH-, or
hydroxide, ions in water. These are able, because of their negative charge, to disrupt
complex molecules like proteins. Although most people realize that acids can be
dangerous to handle, sometimes they don't realize that a base can be just as dangerous.
We have bases in our saliva to protect our teeth from acidic foods, and we use them as
drain cleaners and paint strippers.
The pH scale (think
"power of Hydrogen") tells us mathematically how much H+ is present in a solution. The
scale runs from 0 to 14. 7 is neutral, any solution with a pH below 7 is an acid, and
anything above 7 is a base. Because the scale is logarithmic, it is based on powers of
10. This means that a solution with a pH of 5 will be 10 times more acid than one with a
pH of 6. A pH of 4 is 10x10, or 100, times more acid than pH
6.
If you need to learn to do the calculations for the pH
of solutions the link below will help you to understand it.
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