Worked Example
The acidity or basicity of solutions, including of the oceans, depends on the concentration of hydronium and hydroxide ions. The concentration of hydronium ions in a solution is 1.34×10-4 mol L-1. Is the solution acidic or basic? What is the concentration of hydroxide ions in the solution?
First, we can identify the solution as acidic because the concentration of hydronium ions is greater than 1.0×10-7 mol L-1.
The concentration of hydroxide ions can be calculated using the expression for the ionization constant of water.
Your Turn
Although the ocean is basic, the acidity of the ocean is increasing as the concentration of hydronium ions increases. The current concentration of hydronium ions in the ocean is approximately 8.9×10-9 mol L-1. What is the current concentration of hydroxide ions in the ocean?
If the concentration of hydronium ions increases to 1.2×10-8 mol L-1, what would be the resulting concentration of hydroxide ions?
The current hydroxide ion concentration is currently about:
If the concentration of hydronium ions increases to 8.9×10-9 mol L-1, the concentration of hydroxide ions will be:
