ERIC Number: EJ920475
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2010-Nov
Pages: 7
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0021-9584
EISSN: N/A
Potentiometric pH Measurements of Acidity Are Approximations, Some More Useful than Others
de Levie, Robert
Journal of Chemical Education, v87 n11 p1188-1194 Nov 2010
A recent article by McCarty and Vitz "demonstrating that it is not true that pH = -log[H+]" is examined critically. Then, the focus shifts to underlying problems with the IUPAC definition of pH. It is shown how the potentiometric method can provide "estimates" of both the IUPAC-defined hydrogen activity "and" the hydrogen ion concentration, using the same assumptions and with similar inherent uncertainties. Moreover, it is argued that the original Sorensen definition of pH as -log[H[superscript+]] is preferable over the current one.
Descriptors: Chemistry, Science Instruction, College Science, Scientific Concepts, Measurement Techniques, Computation, Spectroscopy, Kinetics
Division of Chemical Education, Inc and ACS Publications Division of the American Chemical Society. 1155 Sixteenth Street NW, Washington, DC 20036. Tel: 800-227-5558; Tel: 202-872-4600; e-mail: eic@jce.acs.org; Web site: http://pubs.acs.org/jchemeduc
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A