Calculating pH with H+ or H3O+

[Ayesha Aslam-Mir 3C]

Is it possible for an acidic solution to have a different number of moles of H+ and H3O+? (like if there aren't enough H+ for H20?) Or is this not possible in acidic compounds in aqueous solution.

If so, which would you use to calculate the pH of the solution?

[SavannahScriven_1F]

I would assume the H+ concentrations and H3O+ concentrations are always equal. I think Lavelle said H+ and H3O+ mean the exact same thing, but some chemists prefer to write H3O+ because it is more descriptive of what is going on in the solution.

[Chem_Mod]

In this case, H+ and H3O+ are synonymous. Ideally, the correct notation is H3O+, which is used to calculate the pH using the negative log rule.

[Andre Fabian 1F]

In Dr. Lavelle's lectures he stated that H+ and H3O+ for the purposes in this class can be used interchangeably, but he mentioned that in later chemistry classes, in chemical equations we should write it out as HA + H20 = A +H30.

In addition, pH can be calculated as pH = -log10[H+]


Hope this helps!
Andre