Difference between an acid and a base

Question

What is the difference between an acid and a base?

Answer 1

Base is anything, which has an ability to abstract a proton. Using the simplest description, an acid is something when added to the water liberates hydrogen ions (or H+), as well called protons. A base, or an alkali, is something that when added to water liberates hydroxide (or OH-) ions.

The strength of the basic (or as well known as alkaline) or acidic solution is measured using the pH scale. A pH of 7 is completely pure neutral water (nor basic or neither acidic), and pH under 7 is acidic, and a pH exceeding 7 is basic.
There is another description, which states that an acid liberates H+ and bases eradicate H+ from water. This description is a bit more general than the primary one above. Note that liberating OH- is the same as eradicating H+. This is since when OH- mixes with H+, they form impartial H2O, and so for each and every OH- released, one H+ is eradicated by combining them in water.

The final description of a base and acid is the most common, but the trickiest to understand abstractly, and it is not always taught in high school since of this. According to this description, acids are the electron pair acceptors, as well as bases are electron pair donors.