Introducing Acids

The word acid means sour. Sour milk, lemon juice and sour wine are examples of acidic substances that have a sharp or sour taste. Some acids are corrosive and can attack metals and the fizz produced when an acid reacts with a carbonate can be used as a test for an acid. Another important property of acids is their ability to produce colour changes in certain vegetable dyes.

The photograph shows a bottle of a well-known mineral acid. It has a typical effect on blue litmus paper. Acidic substances dissolve in water to produce solutions that turn litmus red.

There are many examples of acids to be found in everyday life. Click on the picture to see the name and formula of the acid present.