Relationship of pH, pOH, H3O, and OH

[Alex_Lee_1K]

Hello,

Could someone explain the relationship between pH and hydronium and hydroxide and pOH?

specifically from the section of Acids and Bases where it says: Explain how the pH of a solution is related to its hydronium ion and hydroxide ion concentrations.

Thanks

[Darlene Luu 1H]

Hi! Understanding the relationship between them is by the equations:

pH = -log[H3O+]
[H3O+] = 10^-pH
pOH = -log[OH-]
[OH-] = 10^-pOH
14 = pH + pOH

By using these equations, we can describe the specific solution using pH, pOH, [H3O+], and [OH-].

I hope this helps!

[Anne Mariano 3F]

When pH decreases, pOH increases. They are related to each other as they will tell you if a solution is acidic or basic. With a pH <7 and pOH >7, the solution is acidic. The ion concentration is also [H+] > [OH-]. With a pH > 7 and pOH < 7, the solution is basic. The ion concentration is [H+] < [OH-]. With a pH = 7 and pOH = 7, the solution is neutral and [H+] = [OH-].

[Lyndon Cope 2D]

Yes that is exactly right, if you remember that p means -log then you can kind of figure the relationships out mathematically from there.