Question #ae736

1 Answer
Sep 5, 2016

An increase in pH means that the solution is becoming less acidic and more basic.

Explanation:

pH means parts Hydrogen. It is a measure of the concentration of Hydrogen ions in the solution.

pH is the negative log of the hydrogen ion concentration.

pH = # - log {H^+} #

Since pH is the negative log it means that the lower the pH the more acid the solution is

Example if the solution is 10% ( 10/100) or .1 # H^+# The the pH is 1

1 = #- log ( 10^-1)#

The log is the exponent of the hydrogen ion concentration so the log is -1 but pH is the negative log so # -1 xx -1 # = 1

Example if the solutions is only 1% ( 1/100) or .01 # {H^+}# The the pH increases to 2

2 = # - log (10^-2) #

So as the pH number goes up in value the hydrogen ion concentration goes down, and the solution becomes less acidic.