What is the pH difference of two samples if the concentration of [H+] ions is 1000-fold less in the second sample?

a. The pH of the first sample would be 3 pH units lower than the second sample.

b. The pH of the first sample would be 2 pH units higher than the second sample.

c. The pH of the first sample would be 3 pH units higher than the second sample.

d. The pH of the first sample would be 2 pH units lower than the second sample.

Question

Chemistry

Taniya Hayden

18 January, 19:10

What is the pH difference of two samples if the concentration of [H+] ions is 1000-fold less in the second sample?

a. The pH of the first sample would be 3 pH units lower than the second sample.

b. The pH of the first sample would be 2 pH units higher than the second sample.

c. The pH of the first sample would be 3 pH units higher than the second sample.

d. The pH of the first sample would be 2 pH units lower than the second sample.

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Answers (1)

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Jennifer Molina · Answer 1

The correct answer is a. This is because the pH of a solution is defined as - log10 (concentration of H + ions). An inverse logarithmic scale such as this means that a solution with a lower concentration of H + ions will have a higher pH than one with a higher concentration. Therefore we know that the pH of the second sample will be higher than the first.

Since the logarithmic scale has the base 10, a change by 1 on the scale is a consequence of multiplication/division of the H + concentration by a factor of 10. As the scale is inverse, this means that a decrease of concentration by factor 1000 is equivalent to increasing the pH by (1000/10) = 3.