Ionization of Water, Weak Acids, and Weak Bases: -The pH Scale Designates the H+ and OH- Concentrations
The ion product of water, Kw, is the basis for the pH scale (Table 2–6). It is a convenient means of designating the concentration of H+ (and thus of OH-) in any aqueous solution in the range between 1.0 M H+ and 1.0 M OH-. The term pH is defined by the expression
The symbol p denotes “negative logarithm of.” For a precisely neutral solution at 25 C, in which the concentration of hydrogen ions is 1.0x10-7 M, the pH can be calculated as follows:
The value of 7 for the pH of a precisely neutral solution is not an arbitrarily chosen figure; it is derived from the absolute value of the ion product of water at 25C, which by convenient coincidence is a round number. Solutions having a pH greater than 7 are alkaline or basic; the concentration of OH is greater than that of H+. Conversely, solutions having a pH less than 7 are acidic. Note that the pH scale is logarithmic, not arithmetic. To say that two solutions differ in pH by 1 pH unit means that one solution has ten times the H concentration of the other, but it does not tell us the absolute magnitude of the difference. Figure 2–15 gives the pH of some common aqueous fluids. A cola drink (pH 3.0) or red wine (pH 3.7) has an H concentration approximately 10,000 times that of blood (pH 7.4). The pH of an aqueous solution can be approximately measured using various indicator dyes, including litmus, phenolphthalein, and phenol red, which undergo color changes as a proton dissociates from the dye molecule. Accurate determinations of pH in the chemical or clinical laboratory are made with a glass electrode that is selectively sensitive to H+ concentration but insensitive to Na+, K+, and other cations. In a pH meter the signal from such an electrode is amplified and compared with the signal generated by a solution of accurately known pH. Measurement of pH is one of the most important and frequently used procedures in biochemistry. The pH affects the structure and activity of biological macromolecules; for example, the catalytic activity of enzymes is strongly dependent on pH (see Fig. 2–21). Measurements of the pH of blood and urine are commonly used in medical diagnoses. The pH of the blood plasma of people
with severe, uncontrolled diabetes, for example, is often below the normal value of 7.4; this condition is called acidosis. In certain other disease states the pH of the blood is higher than normal, the condition of alkalosis.
