Difference Between Alkali and Base

What is Base?

There are multiple definitions of the base.

• A substance used to neutralize acid is called a base.
• Some of the bases that form a neutral product with acids are metal hydroxides and metal oxides.
• Examples of base: zinc hydroxide and copper oxide.
• Base reacts with the acid in order to make it neutral.
• The base is bitter in taste and is slippery in nature.
• They produce salt molecules and water on reacting with acids.
• Types of bases are a strong base and a weak base.
• Example of a strong base is NaOH.
• Example of a weak base is NH3.
• Bases do not dissolve in water.

What is Alkali?

• Alkali is a base.
• It is a base that dissolves in water.
• This is very important to remember-
• Not all bases are alkali but all alkali is base.
• It is a basic salt alkali earth metal or alkali metal.
• On adding alkali to acid the pH of the mixture increase.
• On adding acid to alkali the pH decreases due to the removal of alkali.
• Neutralization is a reaction in which removal of alkalinity or acidity occurs.

To make you understand how alkali and base are different from each other, here are some of the major differences between alkali and base:

These were some of the important differences between Alkali and base.

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FAQs

1. Are alkali and base the same?
Ans: Typically they are metal oxides, metal hydroxides, metal carbonates and carbonates of molten hydrogen. There are many bases that are insoluble-they are not dissolving in water. If a base dissolves in water, so we term it an alkali. Alkaline / intermediate solution is the same as base / simple solution.

2. Why bases are called alkali?
Ans: Alkali metals form alkali (base) in contact with water, and they form metal oxides when water reacts. Alkali metal oxides are also bases and when dissolved in water, they form an alkaline solution. During reaction with water, Group 2 metals also form bases and their oxides are basic and found in the earth’s crust.

3. Which bases are called alkali?
Ans: The bases that are water-soluble are called alkalis. They are feeling soapy, sour and corrosive. So an alkali is a sort of foundation. For example, NaOH, KOH, etc.

4. What is alkali used for?
Ans: Uses of traditional Alkalis sodium hydroxide are used to make paper, soap, and detergents. Potassium hydroxide is used in agriculture to make acid soil more alkaline so that plants grow stronger in it, and is also used in alkaline, Ni-Cd, and Ni-MH batteries as the electrolyte.

5. What is a free alkali?
Ans: The word, free caustic al-kali, is usually defined as free NaOH; while total free alkali includes free caustic al-kali and additional alkaline sub-stances other than soap, mainly sodium carbonate and silicate.

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