Understanding pH: Impact on Natural World

1. What is pH? Hastings Regents Chemistry

2. Objectives • Compare the difference between mixtures and solutions. • Describe how pH determines how acidic and basic a solution is. • Determine the importance of pH in the natural world. • Narrate what pH means to you and how it affects the world.

3. Mixtures and Solutions • A mixture is a combination of substances in which the individual components retain their own properties and don’t react chemically. • Neither component of the mixture changes. • An example of a mixture is concrete which contains cement, rock, and sand mixed with it. Another example of a mixture is when you place oil and water in a pot- they don’t mix.

4. Mixtures and Solutions • A solution is a mixture in which one or more substances (solutes) are distributed evenly in another substance (solvent) and they mix chemically. • Sugar molecules (solute) in a powdered drink mix dissolve easily in water (solvent) to form a solution.

5. Question 1 What is the difference between a mixture and a solution? (NY: St 4 KI 6.1c) In a mixture there are substances that don’t react, they are just nearby to each other while in a solution the substances can react in many different ways.

6. What are acidsand bases? • Chemical reactions can occur only when conditions are right. Especially reactions that involve enzymes in living things. • A chemical reaction may depend on: - energy availability - temperature - concentration of a substance - pH of the internal or surrounding environment

7. Acids and bases • The pH is a measure of how acidic (H+) or basic (-OH) a solution is. • A scale with values ranging from below 0 to above 14 is used to measure pH. More acidic More basic Neutral

8. Acids and bases • Acids have a lot of Hydrogen ions (H+)and bases have a lot of Hydroxide ions (-OH). • A solution is neutral if its pH equals seven. More acidic More basic Neutral H+ H+ H+ H+ -OH -OH H+ -OH H+ -OH H+ -OH H+ H+ H+ H+ -OH -OH H+ H+ -OH -OH H+ H+ H+ (H+) + (-OH) = H2O -OH -OH -OH H+ H+ H+ -OH H+ H+ -OH H+ H+ -OH -OH -OH H+ H+

9. Acids and bases • Substances with a pH above 7 are basic. A base is any substance that forms hydroxide ions (-OH) in water. Ammonia (pH 11)

10. Acids and bases • Substances with a pH below 7 are acidic. An acid is any substance that forms hydrogen ions (H+) in water. Vinegar (pH 3)

11. Question 2 What are acids and bases? Give examples. An acid basically has an excess of Hydrogen ions (H+)and a base has an excess of Hydroxide ions (-OH) . Examples can be: lemon juice, ammonia, vinegar, drinking water, hydrated lime, clorox, drano, seltzer water, etc.

12. Importance of pH in the natural world • The rate of certain reactions is affected by the pH of the solution. If the reaction involves a proton, or H+, then a more acidic solution will have a faster rate. pH is really just a measure of the H+ concentration. So if H+ is a reactant, than a low pH will have a higher concentration of that reactant, making for a faster reaction. Similarly, if OH- is a reactant, than a high pH will make the reaction go faster because at a high pH, the concentration of OH- is large (and the concentration of H+ is small -- they are inversely proportional).

13. Importance of pH in the natural world • Acids and bases can also cause many substances to fall apart because they can force the bonds to break by taking away Hydrogens and Hydroxides from them to make water. • Acids and bases are used in cooking, cleaning, making computers, batteries, enzyme reactions in your body, digestion, and countless other things.

14. Importance of pH in the natural world • Excess Carbon Dioxide production as a result of burning fossil fuels increases the amount of acid rain in the atmosphere. When this rain comes down it kills trees and fish by changing the pH values of their habitat. This affects humans indirectly by limiting the amount of oxygen that can be recycled back into the atmosphere and in our dependency on fish as food or fish meal.

15. pH Facts