What is the pH of a HCl solution which is 5.0 x 10-2 M?

1 Answer
anor277
Nov 15, 2017

#pH=1.30#

Explanation:

By definition, #pH#, #"pouvoir hydrogène"# is given by....

#pH=-log_10[H_3O^+]#...

And #-log_10(5xx10^-2)=-(-1.30)=1.30#

The #pH# scale is a hold-over from the 19th and most of the 20th centuries, when electronic calculators were not 10 cents each. The use of logarithms allows complex calculations to be performed fairly easily and accurately. Of course you had to be able to use a set of log tables.

Related questions
Impact of this question
815 views around the world
You can reuse this answer
Creative Commons License