Acid rain is a serious environmental problem. A sample of rainwater collected in the Adiron- dack Mountains had an H+ concentration of .001 mol/L. What is the pH of this sample?

1 Answer
anor277
Sep 1, 2016

#pH=-log_10[H_3O^+]#, or #pH=-log_10[H^+]#.

In your example #pH=3# clearly.

Explanation:

If #[H^+]=10^-3mol*L^-1#, #pH=3#.

I suspect that this measurement is incorrect, because that is a seriously acid sample of rain water. I wouldn't want to be out in the rain that day! If this is a real measurement, the collected water has likely leached acid salts from the minerals where it pooled. The #pH# of normal rainwater is approx. #6#.

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