Suppose that the concentration of H+ in Solution #1 is 10,000 times greater than in Solution #2. What can you conclude about the difference in pH of these two solutions?
pH is defined as the negative logarithm of the H+ concentration
log(10,000) = 4
pH #2 = pH #1 + 4
To conclude the difference in pH between Solution #1 and Solution #2, we need to understand the relationship between pH and the concentration of H+ ions. pH is a measure of the acidity or alkalinity of a solution and is defined as the negative logarithm (base 10) of the concentration of H+ ions in a solution.
The pH scale ranges from 0 to 14, where pH 7 is considered neutral, pH less than 7 is acidic, and pH greater than 7 is alkaline or basic. Each unit change in pH represents a tenfold difference in the concentration of H+ ions.
Given that the concentration of H+ in Solution #1 is 10,000 times greater than in Solution #2, we can conclude that the pH of Solution #1 is lower (more acidic) than the pH of Solution #2.
To calculate the difference in pH, we can use the logarithmic relationship between H+ concentration and pH:
pH = -log [H+]
Since the concentration of H+ in Solution #1 is 10,000 times greater than in Solution #2, we can write:
[H+ in Solution #1] = 10,000 x [H+ in Solution #2]
Taking the logarithm of both sides:
-log [H+ in Solution #1] = -log (10,000 x [H+ in Solution #2])
Simplifying:
pH Solution #1 = -log (10,000) + (-log [H+ in Solution #2])
Since we know that -log (10,000) is equal to 4 (log base 10 of 10,000), we can calculate the difference in pH:
Difference in pH = pH Solution #1 - pH Solution #2 = 4 + (-log [H+ in Solution #2])
Please note that without specific values for the concentration of H+ in Solution #2, we cannot determine the exact difference in pH between the two solutions.
To determine the pH difference between two solutions, we need to use the pH scale which is a logarithmic scale based on the concentration of H+ ions. The pH scale ranges from 0 to 14.
If the concentration of H+ in solution #1 is 10,000 times greater than in solution #2, we can conclude that solution #1 has a higher concentration of H+ ions and hence a lower pH than solution #2.
Since pH is logarithmic, a 10-fold increase or decrease in H+ concentration corresponds to a change of 1 unit on the pH scale.
To calculate the difference in pH, we can take the logarithm (base 10) of the concentration ratio:
pH difference = log10(concentration ratio)
In this case, the concentration ratio is 10,000, so the pH difference would be:
pH difference = log10(10,000) = log10(10^4) = 4
Therefore, the difference in pH between Solution #1 and Solution #2 is 4 units. Solution #1 would have a pH that is 4 units lower than solution #2.