Question

note that pure water is neutral in terms of ph—its halfway between strong acids and strong bases. (if you arent familiar with logarithms yet, dont worry about the following for now. but if you are familiar with logs already, ph is expressed on a negative log₁₀ scale. so a solution with a ph of 14 has 10⁻¹⁴ protons per mole. a solution with a ph of 1 has 10⁻¹ protons per mole.) if you are told that a solution has a ph of 7.1, what can you infer? ○ it is acidic, meaning that it contains a very high concentration of protons (h⁺). ○ it is basic, meaning that it contains a very low concentration of protons (h⁺). ○ it is neutral, meaning that it contains a moderate amount of protons (about the same as pure water). what is a base? ○ an atom or molecule that releases a proton. ○ an atom or molecule that gains a proton. ○ an atom or molecule that has lost or gained electrons, so carries one (or more) full negative or positive charges.

Explanation:

• For the pH question: The pH scale ranges from 0 (acidic) to 14 (basic), with 7 being neutral. A pH of 7.1 is slightly above 7. Since pH is a negative \( \log_{10} \) scale for proton concentration (\([H^{+}]\)), a higher pH means lower \([H^{+}]\). So a pH of 7.1 is basic (low \([H^{+}]\)).
• For the base definition: A base is a substance that can gain a proton (\(H^{+}\)). An atom/molecule that releases a proton is an acid. An atom/molecule with lost/gained electrons is an ion.

Answer:

• First question: It is basic, meaning that it contains a very low concentration of protons (\(H^{+}\)).
• Second question: An atom or molecule that gains a proton.