How do you differentiate between bases and alkali?

Alkali as well as base neutralize acid, but we have observed that alkali produce ##OH^-## ions in the water , whereas bases such as copper oxide and ferrous do not produce ##OH^-## ions.

All alkali are base but all bases are not alkali.

Hi Friend !

This is really a interesting question, but we make it very easy:

First we understand alkali, any substance that produces OH- (hydroxide ions) in aqueous solution is called alkali.

Here are some examples:

1) Sodium hydroxide solution - ##NaOH_((aq))##.

2) Calcium hydroxide solution - ##Ca(OH)_2####(aq)##

3) Ammonia solution - ##NH_3####(aq)##.

Now we will discuss on the Base:

Any substance that will neutralize an acid, but does not dissolve in water, is called a base.

Here are some examples:

Copper oxide, ferrous oxide and zinc carbonate are the good examples of base.

No doubt alkali as well as base neutralize acid, but we have observed that alkali produce ##OH^-## ions in the water , whereas bases such as copper oxide and ferrous do not produce OH- ions. bases are metallic oxides