Biology Case Study Essay

A sodium ion (Na+) occurs when a sodium atom loses an electron and gains a positive charge

The position of some of these hydrogen atoms formed change when the pH of a solution changes.

“The pH of a solution is a measure of the molar concentration of hydrogen ions in the solution and as such is a measure of the acidity or basicity (sic) of the solution. The letters pH stand for power of hydrogen and the numerical value defined as the negative base 10 logarithm of the molar concentration of hydrogen ions.” (PH, 2002). The pH scale is from 0 to 14. When the pH is higher, the hydrogen ions are fewer and the substance considered alkaline. This means when a pH unit increases by one, there is a tenfold change in the hydrogen ion. For example, if a substance has a 7 pH, it has 10 times as many as hydrogen ions available as 8 pH. A lake having a water pH between 6.5 and 8.5 is considered to be neutral. Researchers tested Peckham Park lake water monthly from August 2015 to April 2016 for water pH levels. A water quality PH test strip taken from a jar and dipped into the lake. After a few minutes, the strip will turn a color and this color determines the pH. The jar the strips came in has a chart of the colors on the back which compared to the color on the strip. The lake tested monthly using the PH test strips, which show the pH level, hardness, toxic, etc. using color-change

For example, molecules with projecting Hydrogen atoms bond with molecules with projecting Hydroxyl groups (-OH), forming water. The water molecule then leaves the reactants, allowing them to bond to form a larger, more complex molecule.

In this assignment you will be asked to rank aqueous solutions of acids, bases, and salts in order of increasing pH. This is most easily done by first identifying the strong acids that have the lowest pH, the strong bases that have the highest pH, and the neutral solutions that have a pH near 7. The weak acids

To start out this study the difference between acids and bases has to be identified. Acids have very low pHs and have a high concentration of hydronium ions, while bases have a high pH and have a high concentration of hydroxide ions. The difference between strong bases and acids, and weak bases and acids is the amount of dissociation. Strong bases and acids dissociate a large amount and let go of their ions in solution, while weak bases and acids may only let go of some of their ions. This is important because if the unknown solutions aren’t strong acids or bases then using their ions to calculate the pH of the solutions will give false results (Diffen 2012).

pH is also known as a measure of hydrogen ions in a solution. A hydrogen ion is the nucleus of a hydrogen atom being split from its electron. Studying the pH of different types of soil being placed in a control group such as tap water will represent the acidity or alkalinity of the matter. The pH scale begins at 0 and goes all the way up to 14, pH 7 being its neutral point, which isn’t acidic or basic. A neutral point on the acidic scale is in the middle, anything lower than the neutral point (7), is acidic, and anything higher than the neutral point is considered basic or “alkaline”.

5. NaCl, sodium chloride, is a common salt and it burns in the flame test.

3. Electrons are small and are negatively charged (-) with a mass of almost 0 amu..

Acids are a corrosive substance with a pH less than 7. Acidity is caused by a high concentration of hydrogen ions.

When using different methods to measure pH levels there are some tools that can be useful. Some more than others but by putting into action the different methods it may determine which tools will work best and give the best results when testing the pH within a solution. The pH, which stands for the proportion of hydrogen ions in a solution, could be acidic (acidosis), neutral or basic (alkaline). The pH scale goes from numbers 1 through 14. A pH of 7 is neutral;

In this experiment different pH levels ranging from 3 to 11 were used to test the effects on daphnia heart rate. The pH scale ranges from 0 to 14. A pH ranging from 0 to 6 is acidic, a pH of 7 is neutral, and a pH higher than 7 ranging from 8 to 14 is basic. PH revolves around hydrogen ions (H+). The reason pH levels can be acidic, basic, or neutral is because acids give hydrogen ions away while bases accept hydrogen ions. (Decelles, 2002).

Description Everyday, we encounter solutions that can be classified as bases. What exactly is a base? A scientist named Gilbert N. Lewis came up with the definition of a basic solution, which we now refer to as a Lewis base, which we will discuss in this lesson. !!!

In 1909 S.P.L. Sorensen published a paper in Biochem Z in which he discussed the effect of H1+ ions on the activity of enzymes. In the paper he invented the term pH to describe this effect and defined it as the -log[H1+ ]. In 1924 Sorensen realized that the pH of a solution is a function of the "activity" of the H1+ ion not the concentration and published a second paper on the subject. A better definition would be pH=-log[aH1+ ], where aH1+ denotes the activity of the H1+ ion. The activity of an ion is a function of many variables of which concentration is one. It is unfortunate that chemistry texts use a definition for pH that has been obsolete for over 50 years.

The hydrogen ion (H+) concentration is extremely important to living organisms. Even small changes in H+ ¬¬ion concentration can cause serious consequences to the structural and functional integrity of molecules. Consequently, it is important to regulate the pH within strict limits so that important biochemical processes of living systems can proceed normally.