A map of eastern North America, showing the pH of rainfall in the various states, indicates that the pH of rain in New York State varies from 4.22 to 4.40. According to these figures, what is the most acidic rainfall in New York?

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Answer 1 · 2018-03-31T08:00:20

Where #pH=4.22#...

By definition, #pH=-log_10[H_3O^+]#..and thus the more NEGATIVE reading of #pH# (i.e. the numerically smaller reading), has the HIGHEST #[H_3O^+]#..

We got here two #pH# values...

#pH=4.40; [H_3O^+]=10^(-4.40)*mol*L^-1=3.98xx10^-5*mol*L^-1.#

#pH=4.22; [H_3O^+]=10^(-2.22)*mol*L^-1=6.03xx10^-3*mol*L^-1.#

And so the latter solution is 100 times as acidic as the former.

Concentrated #HCl# comes out of the bottle with #10.6*mol*L^-1# concentration, what is the ostensible #pH# of this solution?