pH Scale

[cs_content][cs_section parallax=”false” separator_top_type=”none” separator_top_height=”50px” separator_top_angle_point=”50″ separator_bottom_type=”none” separator_bottom_height=”50px” separator_bottom_angle_point=”50″ style=”margin: 0px;padding: 45px 0px;”][cs_row inner_container=”true” marginless_columns=”false” style=”margin: 0px auto;padding: 0px;”][cs_column fade=”false” fade_animation=”in” fade_animation_offset=”45px” fade_duration=”750″ type=”1/1″ style=”padding: 0px;”][cs_text]The Acidic Environment‎ > ‎3. Acids‎ >

Describe the use of the pH scale in comparing acids and bases[/cs_text][/cs_column][/cs_row][/cs_section][cs_section parallax=”false” separator_top_type=”none” separator_top_height=”50px” separator_top_angle_point=”50″ separator_bottom_type=”none” separator_bottom_height=”50px” separator_bottom_angle_point=”50″ style=”margin: 0px;padding: 45px 0px;”][cs_row inner_container=”true” marginless_columns=”false” style=”margin: 0px auto;padding: 0px;”][cs_column fade=”false” fade_animation=”in” fade_animation_offset=”45px” fade_duration=”750″ type=”1/1″ style=”padding: 0px;”][cs_text]

  • Pure water contains very small amounts of hydrogen and hydroxide ions due to self-ionisation:
  • At 25°C, the concentration of hydrogen ions is 1.0 x 10-7 mol L-1.
  • When an acid is added to water, the above equilibrium shifts in the reverse direction, causing a decrease in the hydroxide concentration.
  • When a base is added to water, the above equilibrium shifts in the reverse direction, causing a decrease in hydrogen ion concentration.
  • Thus, acidic solutions have a higher concentration of hydrogen ions than 1.0 x 10-7 mol L-1, while basic solutions have a lower concentration of hydrogen ions than 1.0 x 10-7 mol L-1.
  • The pH scale is used to compare the concentration of hydrogen ions in solutions of acids and bases.
  • It is a logarithmic scale, as the concentration of hydrogen ions would require a very large linear scale.

THE PH SCALE

  •  Image taken from http://www.isa.org/Images/InTech/2005/May/20050514sens.gif

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