Learn the pH of Common Chemicals

Learn the pH of Common Chemicals pH is a measure of how acidic or basic a chemical is when its in aqueous (water) solution. A neutral pH value (neither an acid nor a base) is 7. Substances with a pH greater than 7 up to 14 are considered bases. Chemicals with a pH lower than 7 down to 0 are considered acids. The closer the pH is to 0 or 14, the greater its acidity or basicity, respectively. Heres a list of the approximate pH of some common chemicals. Key Takeaways: pH of Common Chemicals pH is a measure of how acidic or basic an aqueous solution is. pH usually ranges from 0 (acidic) to 14 (basic). A pH value around 7 is considered neutral.pH is measured using pH paper or a pH meter.Most fruits, vegetables, and body fluids are acidic. While pure water is neutral, natural water may be either acidic or basic. Cleaners tend to be basic. pH of Common Acids Fruits and vegetables tend to be acidic. Citrus fruit, in particular, is acidic to the point where it can erode tooth enamel. Milk is often considered to be neutral, since its only slightly acidic. Milk becomes more acidic over time. The pH of urine and saliva is slightly acidic, around a pH of 6. Human skin, hair, and nails tends to have a pH around 5. 0 - Hydrochloric Acid (HCl)1.0 - Battery Acid (H2SO4 sulfuric acid) and stomach acid2.0 - Lemon Juice2.2 - Vinegar3.0 - Apples, Soda3.0 to 3.5 - Sauerkraut3.5 to 3.9 - Pickles4.0 - Wine and Beer4.5 - Tomatoes4.5 to 5.2 - Bananasaround 5.0 - Acid Rain5.0 - Black Coffee5.3 to 5.8 - Bread5.4 to 6.2 - Red Meat5.9 - Cheddar Cheese6.1 to 6.4 - Butter6.6 - Milk6.6 to 6.8 - Fish Neutral pH Chemicals Distilled water tends to be slightly acidic because of dissolved carbon dioxide and other gases. Pure water is nearly neutral, but rain water tends to be slightly acidic. Natural water rich in minerals tends to be alkaline or basic. 7.0 - Pure Water pH of Common Bases Many common cleaners are basic. Usually, these chemicals have very high pH. Blood is close to neutral, but is slightly basic. 7.0 to 10 - Shampoo7.4 - Human Blood7.4 - Human Tears7.8 - Eggaround 8 - Seawater8.3 - Baking Soda (Sodium Bicarbonate)around 9 - Toothpaste10.5 - Milk of Magnesia11.0 - Ammonia11.5 to 14 - Hair Straightening Chemicals12.4 - Lime (Calcium Hydroxide)13.0 - Lye14.0 - Sodium Hydroxide (NaOH) Other pH Values Soil pH ranges from 3 to 10. Most plants prefer a pH between 5.5 and 7.5. Stomach acid contains hydrochloric acid and other substances and has a pH value of 1.2. While pure water free of undissolved gases is neutral, not much else is. However, buffer solutions may be prepared to maintain a pH near 7. Dissolving table salt (sodium chloride) in water does not change its pH. How to Measure pH There are multiple ways to test the pH of substances. The simplest method is to use pH paper test strips. You can make these yourself using coffee filters and cabbage juice, use Litmus paper, or other test strips. The color of the test strips corresponds to a pH range. Because the color change depends on the type of indicator dye used to coat the paper, the result needs to be compared against a chart of standard. Another method is to draw a small sample of a substance and apply drops of pH indicator and observe the test change. Many home chemicals are natural pH indicators. pH test kits are available to test liquids. Usually these are designed for a particular application, like aquaria or swimming pools. pH test kits are fairly accurate, but may be affected by other chemicals in a sample. The most accurate method of measuring pH is using a pH meter. pH meters are more expensive than test papers or kits and require calibration, so they are generally used in schools and labs. Note About Safety Chemicals that have very low or very high pH are often corrosive and can produce chemical burns. Its fine to dilute these chemicals in pure water to test their pH. The value wont be changed, but the risk will be reduced. Sources Slessarev, E. W.; Lin, Y.; Bingham, N. L.; Johnson, J. E.; Dai, Y.; Schimel, J. P.; Chadwick, O. A. (November 2016). Water balance creates a threshold in soil pH at the global scale. Nature. 540 (7634): 567–569. doi:10.1038/nature20139

Corythosaurus - Facts and Figures

Corythosaurus - Facts and Figures Name: Corythosaurus (Greek for Corinthian-helmet lizard); pronounced core-ITH-oh-SORE-usHabitat: Forests and plains of North AmericaHistorical Period: Late Cretaceous (75 million years ago)Size and Weight: About 30 feet long and five tonsDiet: PlantsDistinguishing Characteristics: Large, bony crest on head; ground-hugging, quadrupedal posture About Corythosaurus As you can guess from its name, the most distinctive feature of the hadrosaur (duck-billed dinosaur) Corythosaurus was the prominent crest on its head, which looked a bit like the helmet worn by the ancient Greek soldiers of the city-state of Corinth. Unlike the case with distantly related bone-headed dinosaurs like Pachycephalosaurus, however, this crest probably evolved less to establish dominance in the herd, or the right to mate with females by head-butting other male dinosaurs, but rather for display and communication purposes. Corythosaurus wasnt native to Greece, but to the plains and woodlands of late Cretaceous North America, about 75 million years ago. In a spectacular bit of applied paleontology, researchers have created three-dimensional models of Corythosaurus hollow head crest and discovered that these structures create booming sounds when funneled with blasts of air. Its clear that this large, gentle dinosaur used its crest to signal (extremely loudly) to others of its kindthough we may never know whether these sounds were meant to broadcast sexual availability, keep the herd in check during migrations, or warn about the presence of hungry predators like Gorgosaurus. Most likely, communication was also the function of the even more ornate head crests of related hadrosaurs like Parasaurolophus and Charonosaurus. The type fossils of many dinosaurs (most notably the north African meat-eater Spinosaurus) were destroyed during World War II by Allied bombing raids on Germany; Corythosaurus is unique in that two of its fossils went belly-up during World War I. In 1916, an England-bound ship carrying various fossil remains excavated from Canadas Dinosaur Provincial Park was sunk by a German raider; to date, no one has attempted to salvage the wreckage.