Teacher notes:

● Students should be introduced to various theories of acids and bases, such as Arrhenius,
Bronsted-Lowry, and/or Lewis, as well as the autoionization of water before completing this lesson. They
should also be able to understand that H+ and H3O+ can be used interchangeably.
● Though I prefer to use this lesson as a group activity, it may also be used as an individual or whole-class
activity.
● In my experience, student math levels vary within a class. I suggest surveying the class by asking who has
used logs in math class. I then group those kids together and group together the ones who have never
heard of logs. The ones who have already been introduced to logs get through the activity quickly, but
get stuck on the significant figure portion of it. I spend most of my time facilitating the groups for which
logs are a new topic. The practice problems offer an opportunity for students to figure out which
equations to use in order to solve for the unknown. In some cases, there are various pathways to the
correct answer.
● Suggested values for the pre-quiz (in order, so mix them up when written on the board/sharing with
students): 7.89 x 10-9 , 9.5 x 10-8 , 5.8 x 10-5 , 6.45 x 10-5 , 0.00089, 7 x 10-3 , 0.0995, 8.4 x 10-1 .
Instead of writing them on a part of the board that can be covered, you could also write them on sheets
of paper that get distributed to each group. The teacher should time each group when they raise their
hand (and compare this with the time it takes for the post-quiz). Values for post-quiz (in order, so mix
them up when written on the board/sharing with students): 0.08, 1.002, 2.2, 3.05, 4.190, 4.24, 7.02,
8.10. The teacher should also time the groups with putting these values in order. The pre and post
quizzes should be done at the same time for the entire class.
● Be sure to look at each student’s calculator and explain how to enter log/antilog on it. (This is entered
on most graphing and scientific calculators similarly; older versions sometimes differ.)
● For lower level classes, leave off the significant figure portion. Have students report all pH values to 2
decimal places.
● A suggested extension activity: Write the following problems on the board and have students predict
answers without the use of a calculator. Log 0.0001, -log 1 x 10-13, log 0.05, log 6000, log 4000.
Name: ______________________

Understanding pH
Pre-Quiz
A set of numbers will be revealed on the board. Your goal is to write the numbers down
in numerical order (smallest to largest) as fast as you can. When finished, check the
timer on the screen to see how long it took you.

Write the 8 numbers in order below:

Time it took to put them in order: _______

Goal
The goal of this activity is to review the base 10 logarithmic scale, show that it is a
more efficient method of expressing very small or large numbers, and to practice
calculating pH values. pH values are used to show how acidic or basic a substance
is.

Activity

What is a log?

2x= 8 Find x

For more complicated problems, we can use logarithms. In chemistry, we only use the base 10
logarithm—the power to which 10 must be taken to produce a given number.

Try the following: (If you get stuck, ask yourself “to what power must 10 be raised to equal the bolded
number?”)

Log 10 =

Log 1 =

Log 100,000,000 =

Log 0.001 =

Log 1.0 x 10-8=

Note how easy the above problems are when put into scientific notation.
Explain why the following problem is more complicated than the previous

ones. Log 650 =

The number 650 is between 100 and 1000, so the answer must be between ___ and ____.

Using your Calculator

Log 650 =

Directions on how to enter this into my calculator:

Calculating pH

pH = - log [H+], where brackets mean concentration in M

Find pH when [H+] = 2.6 x 10-6 M

Find pH when [H+] = 1.8 x 10-6 M

Find pH when [H+] = 3.9 x 10-4 M

Notice that it is easier to compare pH values since concentration values are so small.

The ____________ the [H+], the ___________ the pH.

**Note that pH values do not have units.**

Acidic or Basic?

When [H+] > [OH-], the solution is acidic

When [H+] < [OH-], the solution is basic

When [H+] = [OH-], the solution is neutral

Find [H+] in a neutral solution using the equation for K w : 1.0x10-14 = [H+][OH-]

What is the pH of this neutral solution?

Therefore, when pH < ______, the solution is __________

When pH > __________, the solution is ____________

When pH = __________, the solution is ____________

Antilog

10-pH = [H+] which is the inverse of log

Use antilog when you have the pH and are trying to find [H+].

Find [H+] of a solution if pH = 4.97.

Directions on how to enter this into my calculator:

Post-Quiz
A new set of numbers will be revealed on the board. Your goal is to write the numbers
down in numerical order (smallest to largest) as fast as you can. When finished, check
the timer on the screen to see how long it took you.

Write the numbers in order below.

Time it took to put them in order: _______

Compare your time for the pre-quiz with that of the post-quiz. If they differed, why do you think that
was the case?
Practice Problems

Use the following relationships to solve the problems below.

pH = - log [H+] [H+] = 10-pH

pOH = - log [OH-] [OH-] = 10-pOH

pH + pOH = 14

1. pH = 1.34, find pOH

2. [H+] = 8.20 x 10-9 M, find pH

3. [H+] = 8.20 x 10-5 M, find pH

4. [OH-] = 6.4 x 10-12 M, find pOH

5. CHALLENGE PROBLEM: [H+] = 3.65 x 10-2 M, find pOH

6. The pH of black coffee is 5.66, find [H+]

7. CHALLENGE PROBLEM: Some battery acid has pOH = 13.06, find [H+]

8. Circle the acidic solutions in the above problems.

9. Coca-Cola has a pH value of 2.53, while Barq’s Root Beer has a pH of 4.61.

a. Find [H+] of each soft drink.

b. Which drink is more acidic?

c. How do you know which is more acidic? THERE ARE TWO CORRECT ANSWERS
HERE. See if you can figure out both of them :-)