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ACIDS, ALKALIS and BASES are three very important words. ALL CHEMICALS are either acids, alkalines or bases. The measure of the acid, alkaline or base is done on the pH scale. Acids are strong chemicals with burning properties, and they usually measure from 5-1 on the pH scale. Alkalis are strong as well, they are used to clean ovens etc, and these usually measure about 7-11 on the pH scale. When an acid is added to an alkali, they REACT violently, and create a base. A base is a chemical that is neither acid nor alkili. Strong acids are extremely useful. They can be used as CATALYSTS, which are chemicals that speed up or slow down a reaction. Scientists can create some incredibly strong acids. Sulphuric acid with sufficient strength can DISSOLVE (completely eat away) a human body in a matter of minutes, and recently, scientists have made FLUROANTIMONIC acid, which has 20,000,000,000,000,000,000 (twenty thousand trillion) times the dissolving power of the sulphuric acid mentioned above. Obviously, care is needed when handling acids. Alkalis are equally as useful, but not as reactive, and they also lack the dissolving power of acids. |
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