Suppose you have 1 l of acid solution. With a pH of 2" , you add 1 l of pure water to it, wat happens to the pH of the solution? Explain!
Is it correct if i state: the pH of the acid solution becomes neutral since pure water is neutral??
No, to make it neutral you would have to add OH ions. Water will dilute it and make it less acidic, but it still will be an acid.
No, that statement is not correct. When you mix an acid solution with pure water, the pH of the resulting solution does not become neutral.
To understand what happens to the pH, we need to consider the concept of pH and how it relates to acidity and alkalinity. pH is a measure of the concentration of hydrogen ions (H+) in a solution. A pH value below 7 indicates acidity, while a pH above 7 indicates alkalinity. A pH of 7 is considered neutral.
In this scenario, you have an acidic solution with a pH of 2. This means that the concentration of hydrogen ions is relatively high. When you add pure water to this acidic solution, the water will dilute the concentration of hydrogen ions, causing a decrease in acidity. However, the pH does not become exactly neutral, but instead increases towards neutrality.
To calculate the new pH after dilution, we can use the concept of dilution formula, which states that the concentration of a solute (in this case, hydrogen ions) is equal to the product of its initial concentration and its initial volume, divided by the final volume.
Initially, you have 1 liter of acid solution with a pH of 2. Since pH is a logarithmic scale, a pH of 2 indicates a hydrogen ion concentration of 0.01 M (10^-2 M). When you add 1 liter of pure water, the resulting volume becomes 2 liters. Using the dilution formula:
Final concentration = (Initial concentration * Initial volume) / Final volume
Final concentration = (0.01 M * 1 L) / 2 L
Final concentration = 0.005 M or 5 x 10^-3 M
Using the equation for pH: pH = -log[H+]
pH = -log(5 x 10^-3)
pH ≈ 2.3
Therefore, the pH of the solution after mixing 1 liter of acid solution with 1 liter of pure water will be approximately 2.3. Although it is less acidic than the original solution, it is still considered acidic, as the pH is below 7.