pH Virtual Lab

Chemistry is extremely important to biology as how atoms behave and interact gives us cell structure and
function! One specific chemical process that we study is the pH of solutions. This activity is a virtual lab that we
will confirm in an actual lab setting soon! Please read all instructions carefully. Once you have done some
preliminary definitions, readings and eventually predictions and testing virtually) you will apply your knowledge
to answer the post lab questions. You may write on this, but if you need more room please add paper…do not
cram answers onto this paper!

Setting up some and review of the basics:

1) What is a chemical indicator? (Hint, remember iodine and starch from a previous lab?)
2) Redraw a typical water molecule include the charges.
3) If a H atom were to break off of the water, what type of ion would that be? (+ or -)
4) Write the chemical formula to illustrate the above.
5) If the oxygen and one of the hydrogens breaks off, what type of ion would that be?
6) Write the chemical formula to illustrate the above.
7) Please go to this website: http://www.answers.com/topic/ph-indicator
8) Using that website what is an “acid-base” indicator?
9) Now please go to the following website: http://www.miamisci.org/ph/
10) Click on the “explain” button
11) What happens to the pH of a solution if there are high concentrations of H+ ions? How about OH- ions?
12) Which of the above ions causes something to be acidic? Basic?
13) Are acidic and basic solutions harmful to living things?
14) Can a solution have equal amounts of H+ and OH-? Would it be neutral?
15) Use the back arrows to return to the main page. Please click on “explore”. You will be testing the 12
solutions listed here. (Lemon juice, etc) BEFORE YOU TEST ANYTHING COMPLETE #16
16) List each solution in the table below and PREDICT whether each of the solutions is an ACID, BASE, or
NEUTRAL. (Remember, predictions are done BEFORE testing occurs)
17) Below is the graph for pH. (pH number line)Based on what you predict each solution to be, write the name
of that solution on the table below. EX: If you think lemon juice is a strong base, write it at # 13

18) After you are done predicting, actually test each solution through the website and record the actual pH of
each solution in the table below.

SOLUTION NAME PREDICTED pH/PREDICTED # ACTUAL pH/ACTUAL #

POST ACTIVITY QUESTIONS:

1. Why is proper pH important to a cell?

2. What term describes a solution high in H+ ions?

3. What term describes a solution high in OH- ions?

4. If you out one acid causing ion together with one base causing ion, what do you get?

5. Why do cells try to maintain neutral pH?

6. Name a structure in the human body that has an acidic pH.

7. What numbers indicate an acid? A base?

8. How do we decipher if an acid is a “weak acid”? or a “strong acid?

9. Would you rather (if you HAD to) place a solution with a pH of 3 or a pH of 6 on your skin? Why?

10. Each number on the pH scale is to the power of 10. So how many more times acidic is a pH of 5 than 6?