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The pH scale measures how acidic or basic a substance is. It ranges from 0 to 14. A pH of 7 is neutral.

A pH less than 7 is
acidic, and a pH greater than 7 is basic. Each whole pH value below 7 is ten times more acidic than the next higher value.
For example, a pH of 4 is ten times more acidic than a pH of 5 and 100 times (10 times 10) more acidic than a pH of 6.
The same holds true for pH values above 7, each of which is ten times more alkalineanother way to say basicthan the
next lower whole value. For example, a pH of 10 is ten times more alkaline than a pH of 9.
Acidic and basic are two extremes that describe a chemical property chemicals.
Mixing acids and bases can cancel out or neutralize their extreme effects. A substance
that is neither acidic nor basic is neutral.
Pure water is neutral, with a pH of 7.0. When chemicals are mixed with water, the mixture can become either acidic or
basic. Vinegar and lemon juice are acidic substances, while laundry detergents and ammonia are basic.


Definition: The acid dissociation constant is the equilibrium constant of the dissociationreaction of an acid and
is denoted by K
a
.
Examples:
The acid dissociation constant, K
a
of the acid HB:
HB(aq) H
+
(aq) + B
-
(aq)
K
a
= [H
+
][B
-
] / [HB]
An acid dissociation constant, K
a
, (also known as acidity constant, or acid-ionization
constant) is a quantitative measure of the strength of an acid in solution. It is
the equilibrium constant for a chemical reaction known as dissociationin the context
of acid-base reactions. The equilibrium can be written symbolically as:
where HA is a generic acid that dissociates by splitting into A

, known as
theconjugate base of the acid, and the hydrogen ion or proton, H
+
, which, in the case
of aqueous solutions, exists as a solvated hydronium ion. In the example shown in
the figure, HA represents acetic acid, and A

the acetate ion. The chemical species


HA, A

and H
+
are said to be in equilibrium when their concentrations do not change
with the passing of time. The dissociation constant is usually written as a quotient of
the equilibrium concentrations (in mol/L), denoted by [HA], [A

] and [H
+
]:
Due to the many orders of magnitude spanned by K
a
values, a logarithmic measure
of the acid dissociation constant is more commonly used in practice. pK
a
, which is
equal to log
10
K
a
, may also be (incorrectly) referred to as an acid dissociation
constant:
The larger the value of pK
a
, the smaller the extent of dissociation. A weak acid has a
pK
a
value in the approximate range 2 to 12 in water. Acids with a pK
a
value of less
than about 2 are said to be strong acids; a strong acid is almost completely
dissociated in aqueous solution, to the extent that the concentration of the
undissociated acid becomes undetectable. pK
a
values for strong acids can, however,
be estimated by theoretical means or by extrapolating from measurements in non-
aqueous solvents in which the dissociation constant is smaller, such
as acetonitrile and dimethylsulfoxide.

Definition
A buffer solution is one which resists changes in pH when small quantities of
an acid or an alkali are added to it.
Acidic buffer solutions
An acidic buffer solution is simply one which has a pH less than 7. Acidic
buffer solutions are commonly made from a weak acid and one of its salts -
often a sodium salt.
A common example would be a mixture of ethanoic acid and sodium
ethanoate in solution.
How do buffer solutions work?
A buffer solution has to contain things which will remove any hydrogen ions or
hydroxide ions that you might add to it - otherwise the pH will change. Acidic and
alkaline buffer solutions achieve this in different ways.

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