pH and pOH

[Kendall_Islam_3A]

What does the p stand for in pH and pOH? I know pH means -log[H+] and pOH means -log[OH-], but why was the letter p chosen, and what does it mean?

[emilyharland]

p is a shorthand notation for -log that is written to simplify the equations

[Shelby Slaughter 3D]

I've heard that it stands for potential, but other sources say it was just chosen at random. Here is a short article about it.http://cultureofchemistry.fieldofscienc ... ds-ph.html

[Ryan Petrecca 1L]

I believe p means something along the lines of "power of (hydrogen)" or I have also heard it used as "potential of (hydrogen)."

[Sophia Eliopulos 2I]

pOH = -log[OH-]

the negative log of the hydroxide ion molarity

pKw = -log Kw

the negative log of the water ion product , Kw

pKa = -log Ka

the negative log of the acid dissociation constant, Ka

pKb = -log Kb

the negative log of the base dissociation constant, Kb