Question

Carbon dioxide gas turns blue litmus red.
A.True
B.False

Answer 1

Hint: Acid on going under the blue litmus test, turns the litmus into red while bases on going red litmus test, turns the litmus into blue. Acids show no change in the red litmus test and bases show no change in blue litmus test, therefore, the other colour litmus are used.

Complete answer:
Initially the acids and base were called Lewis’s acid and Lewis’s base. These Lewis acids and bases were defined as the substances which on being dissolved in water gave the hydrogen ion present in it readily. The Lewis bases were defined as the substances which on dissolving in water gave hydroxide ions present in it, readily.
But later it was seen that there were many compounds which were acidic and gave the blue litmus test and gave the colour red, resulting in the rethinking of the definition of acids.
Later on, acids were defined as the compounds which on reaction with water, readily emitted hydrogen ion and an anion and the compound went in equilibrium with its dissociation. While bases were defined as the compounds which on reaction with water, readily emitted hydroxide ion and a cation and the compound went in equilibrium with its dissociation.
We have been given carbon dioxide. Now carbon dioxide doesn’t have any orogen or hydroxide ion. We know that the polarity between the oxygen atoms and carbon is high due to two oxygen atoms, creating a polarity. This compound when mixed with water and heated formed hydrogen carbonate, a compound which is acidic in nature. Now if hydrogen carbonate is acidic then so will carbon dioxide be.
The statement carbon dioxide turns blue litmus red is true.

Note:
Bases have a tendency to convert the red litmus blue, as the compound formed by bases when dissolved or reacted with water, gives out hydroxide ion, therefore turning red litmus blue. Few examples of bases are sodium hydroxide and calcium carbonate.