Given two aqueous solution whose respective #pH# values are #6# and #3#, how much more acidic is one solution compared to the other?

1 Answer
May 25, 2017

#"By a factor of 1000............."#

Explanation:

By definition, #pH=-log_10[H_3O^+]#......

And thus when #pH=6#, #[H_3O^+]=10^(-6)*mol*L^-1#

And when #pH=3#, #[H_3O^+]=10^(-3)*mol*L^-1#.

And thus there is a 1000-fold difference between the solution concentrations with respect to #[H_3O^+]#. AS always, the numerically LOWER #pH# corresponds to a higher concentration of #[H_3O^+]#. If we have a concentration of #[HCl]=1.0*mol*L^-1#, what is the solution #pH#?

For an undergrad discussion of #pH# see this linky.