Can pH be Negative?

In this JC2 webinar we want to discuss if pH of an acidic solution can be negative.

Let Chemistry Guru, Singapore's renowned JC Chemistry tuition centre, guide you through this question.

Calculating the pH of a strong acid is pretty straightforward.

We know strong acids are fully dissociated so the concentration of H⁺ and HCl are equal.

We can then calculate the pH from the H⁺ concentration to get a negative value.

This result might confuse some of us, as we usually think the lowest possible pH is either 1 or zero.

The reason why we have that concept is due to the pH scale that we are very familiar with.

Notice the pH scale gives us the following impressions which are not always true!

- pH of neutral water is always 7
- the strongest possible acid has a minimum pH of 0 (or 1 depending on the textbook that you were using)
- the strongest possible base has a maximum pH of 14

Let's calculate the H⁺ concentration that corresponds to pH 0.

The concentration of H⁺ at pH 0 is only 1.0 mol dm^-3.

It's definitely possible to increase the concentration of H⁺ to beyond 1.0 mol dm^-3, and pH will become negative.

Similarly, we can calculate the OH^- concentration that corresponds to pH 14.

Again it's possible to increase the concentration of OH^- to more than 1.0 mol dm^-3 and pH will be greater than 14.

It's important to note that many ideas from the pH scale that we take for granted are actually misconceptions.

Topic: Ionic Equilibria, Physical Chemistry, A Level Chemistry, Singapore

Back to other previous Physical Chemistry Video Lessons.

Found this A Level Chemistry video useful?

This free chemistry video lesson is brought to you by Chemistry Guru, Singapore's trusted JC Chemistry tuition centre since 2010.

Please like this video and share it with your friends!

Join my 18,000 subscribers on my YouTube Channel for new A Level Chemistry video lessons every week.

Check out other A Level Chemistry Video Lessons here!

Need an experienced tutor to make Chemistry simpler for you?

Do consider signing up for my JC Chemistry Tuition classes at Bishan or on-demand video lessons!