Unit 10: Aqueous Chemistry – Calculating pH

Calculating Ion Concentrations: [H+] and [OH-]

 We will only calculate [H+] and [OH-] for strong acids and bases (that is, acids and bases that
ionize completely).

e.g. #1. What is the H+ concentration in a 2.0 M solution of the strong acid HCl?
(write the equation for the ionization of HCl, first)

e.g. #2 What is the OH- concentration in a 0.50 M solution of Ba(OH) 2 (strong base)?
(write the equation for the dissociation of Ba(OH) 2, first)

The pH Scale
 pH is just another way to express [H+] of an acidic or basic solution.
 H+ concentrations are often very small numbers, e.g., 1.3 x 10-3 M.
 pH transforms very small numbers into more workable numbers using logarithms.
 The pH scale expresses [H+] in powers of 10; thus, a pH of 2 is 10X more acidic than a pH of 3.

Calculating pH

Key equations: pH = – log [H+] pOH = – log [OH-] pH + pOH = 14

(rearrange) (rearrange)

[H+] = 10-pH [OH-] = 10-pOH

Remember:
Acids Neutral solutions Bases
pH < 7.0 pH = 7.0 pH > 7.0
[H+] > 10-7 [H+] = 10-7 [H+] < 10-7
[OH−] < 10-7 [OH−] = 10-7 [OH−] > 10-7
the lower the pH, the higher the pH,
the stronger the the stronger the
acid base

We can use the equations above to interconvert [H+], pH, [OH−], and pOH. The possibilities are endless!

e.g. #3 What is the pH of a 0.50 M solution of HCl. The pOH? The [OH -]?
Unit 10: Aqueous Chemistry – Calculating pH

Complete the following table:

Substance [H+] (M) pH pOH [OH–] (M)

gastric juice
HCl 0.05
hydrochloric acid
lemon juice
HC6H5O7 8.3 x 10-3
citric acid
Coke®
H2CO3 9.0 x 10-12
carbonic acid
tomatoes
HC6H5O7 & C4H6O5 4.07
citric & malic acids
coffee
various acids 3.4 x 10-5

milk
C3H6O3 5.0 x 10-8
lactic acid
human blood
H2CO3/HCO3- 6.6
bicarbonate buffer
sea water
NaCl 7.61
sodium chloride
baking soda
NaHCO3 7.96 x 10-9
sodium bicarbonate
milk of magnesia
Mg(OH)2 1.7 x 10-4
magnesium hydroxide
bleach
NaClO 12.5
sodium hypochlorite

The pH “BOX” :