I hope that those that have read parts one and two are still with me. If you are great cause now I am going to discuss what pH is. Oh yea right wasn’t this article going to be about pH? I mean if you look at the title it says it right there.
Okay lets review. I like to review things, cause than you can refresh your brain about what it is that you already read. And maybe, just make things sink into the brain a little bit deeper.
First, in section one we discussed the structure of several atoms, they being Hydrogen, Oxygen, and Sodium. We talked about electrical charges of the particles that make up atoms, Protons, neutrons, electrons. We mentioned where they are located in the atom as well. I also covered orbital shells, the place or paths that electrons orbit around the nucleus of an atom. Also, somewhere back there, a few pages ago; we talked about the three different ways in which atoms can bond to each other? Does anyone remember? No? Yes? Maybe? Okay, enough with the fun. Here they are for review, hydrogen bonds, covalent bonds, and ionic bonds.
Okay are we together as a group? Good. Although I sense a dread of fear as we begin this next chapter, fear not for the pH scale is very easy to understand. Well it is! You are just going to have to trust me on this. And please do not be surprised if we have to cover a few more chemistry terms as well. Remember you don’t have to take a test after you read this.
First of all does anyone know what pH means? No of course not that is why you are reading this. But believe it or not pH means something. Here we go, another answer to get you through a tough night on Jeopardy Tournament of Champions.
The two letters stand for something, and here they are, the p stands for potential, the H stands for Hydrogen. The pH of a solution is nothing more than that, the potential of Hydrogen. But the Potential to do what? How about this as an idea, one hydrogen atom splitting of a molecule of water!
First pH is measured in a logarithmic scale, which ranges from 0 to 14. That’s amazing, think about it, no solution can have a pH of anything less than zero, and may not have anything higher than 14.
Now lets first lets cover the pH scale. The logarithmic scale of pH is based on the power of ten. So if something has a pH of say 4, and another sample has a pH of 5, you would think that the difference is 1. But since we are dealing with a logarithmic scale, we are really dealing with the power of 10. Therefore the pH with a reading of 5 is ten times more base than the solution with a pH reading of 4.
Here it is mathematically, 1.0 x 10-4 moles/liter. Oh no a new term, moles. And no I am not talking about the little critters that dig up holes in your flowerbeds, gardens, and lawns. I am talking about a weight. Well how can that be you may wonder.
Well remember when I said that atoms have mass therefore they also have weight. Well you see there was this guy, I know going off on a little tangent here, but stick with me, this guy was named Avagadro. Well Avagadro was his last name Amedeo was his first name. Avagadro was an Italian. And he had a lot of time on his hands. Well that’s my guess cause who else would ever think of doing this kind of mathematical work with out a lot of time on their hands?
Next Page > Basic Chemistry - Page 2
Part I: Quick Review of Basic Chemistry
Part II: Quick Review of Basic Chemistry
