Can someone please help me with this question? I don't even know were to begin!
1. What is the relationship (i.e. direct or inverse) between pH and hydrogen ion concentration? Remembering that pH= -log[H+].
Thanks for the help!
[H+}=10^-5 pH=5
[H+]=10^-2 pH=2
Thus:
The greater the hydrogen concentration the lower the pH. So is this direct or inverse relationship?
pH = -log[H+]
The above relationship can also be expressed as:
[H+] = 10^(-pH)
or
[H+] = 1 / 10^(pH)
That shows the hydrogen ion concentration is inversely proportional to the pH.
Of course, I'd be happy to help you with this question!
The relationship between pH and hydrogen ion concentration is an inverse relationship. Let me explain how you can arrive at this conclusion.
First, recall that the pH is defined as the negative logarithm (base 10) of the hydrogen ion concentration, denoted as [H+]. Mathematically, it can be expressed as:
pH = -log[H+]
The negative sign in front of the logarithm signifies an inverse relationship. This means that as the value of [H+] increases, the pH value decreases, and vice versa.
To understand why this relationship exists, let's consider what pH and [H+] represent. The pH is a measure of the acidity or basicity of a solution, while [H+] represents the concentration of hydrogen ions in that solution.
As the hydrogen ion concentration increases, the solution becomes more acidic because more hydrogen ions are available. Since pH measures the concentration of hydrogen ions on a logarithmic scale, an increase in [H+] by 10 times (for example, from 1 to 10) results in the pH decreasing by 1 unit (from 0 to -1).
Conversely, as the hydrogen ion concentration decreases, the solution becomes more basic. In this case, the pH value increases because there are fewer hydrogen ions present. Again, using the logarithmic scale, a decrease in [H+] by 10 times results in the pH increasing by 1 unit.
So, to summarize, the inverse relationship between pH and hydrogen ion concentration means that as the concentration of hydrogen ions increases, the pH value decreases (making the solution more acidic), and as the concentration of hydrogen ions decreases, the pH value increases (making the solution more basic).