All Questions
Tagged with everyday-chemistry ph
33 questions
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Actives ph adjustments doubts
I hope someone can answer my question please.
Should I measure the pH value after each addition of active ingredients in my cosmetic formula to ensure that the active ingredient remains within its ...
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-2
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1
answer
113
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Creating Chloramines
I'm currently conducting some testing related to indoor pool environments.
Here I believe, airborne chloramines are responsible for stress corrosion cracking in austenitic stainless steels.
...
- 65
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1
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How do you calculate percentage acidity?
I am looking to calculate the percentage acidity of different drinks for the purposes of devising cocktail recipes. According to Liquid Intelligence by David Arnold, the optimum acidity level is 0.7-0....
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6
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3
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Are acids effective in removing soap scum?
In my experience, most of the commercial products intended for removing soap scum from bathroom surfaces are ineffective. No matter how long you leave it on or how hard you scrub, the soap scum doesn'...
- 922
11
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1
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Why measure both alkalinity and pH in pools if pH alone tells us how acidic or basic something is?
I am trying to better understand the chemistry of maintaining my pool so that I can use the least amount of chemicals to control algae growth and I'm confused by the need to measure both total ...
- 221
2
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0
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740
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The pH of tap water changes with time [closed]
My following questions are related to $\mathrm{pH}$ values in irrigation water in plants.
I got a $\mathrm{pH}$ meter and I am measuring the tap water and I get an value about 8.
My first question: ...
- 31
1
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0
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131
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How does flocculation in paint work?
I recently learned that you can clean up latex paint wash-up water by flocculating it: adding aluminum sulfate and hydrated lime. I vaguely remember how flocculation works in clay slurries (change in ...
- 111
2
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2
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3k
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Why is HCl the acid of choice for swimming pools?
Why is muriatic acid the go to acid to put into pools? Does it work better than nitric acid, sulfuric acid, or another strong acid? I mean they all will add the same amount of H+ right? Note, we use ...
- 1,167
2
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1
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304
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Why is the pH level of carbonation loss decreasing then increases afterwards?
We have done an experiment of the titration of unsealed sprite soda to find the amount of carbonic acid being loss on various duration (0 to 1 hour), due to decrease pressure.
The calculation was to ...
- 21
13
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2
answers
9k
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Why are synthetic pH indicators used over natural indicators?
Synthetic indicators seem to be exclusively used when determining the pH of a substance with an indicator (with the exception of that school experiment where you boil cabbage to demonstrate natural pH ...
- 143
1
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3
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Sugar solutions have a neutral pH in themselves, but it makes your body acidic. Why? [closed]
I'm not an expert, but as far as I understood a sugar solution is completely neutral since sugar can't take hydrogen ions out of the water or donate them in. Sugar is a non ionic compound, so it does ...
- 169
3
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1
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Safely lowering bleach pH without chlorine gas?
According to Eurekalert, by lowering the pH of household bleach (e.g., by adding vinegar or citric acid), we can increase $\text{[HOCl]}$ and consequently greatly improve the disinfecting capabilities ...
- 1,566
2
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1
answer
2k
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Why was my soap measured as acidic?
I've always been told soap is basic in pH. A few years back in a high school chemistry class, we measured the pH of various substances with universal pH indicator. We measured some liquid hand soap ...
- 1,167
11
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1
answer
10k
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What are the side effects of adding dry ice to a swimming pool?
My apartment complex pool was closed today due to a resident dumping a large quantity of dry ice into the pool. In the notification from my landlord, they stated:
Dry ice is frozen carbon dioxide ...
- 219
6
votes
1
answer
532
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Could we reach a pH of 4.9 by blowing through straws?
According to Wikipedia's article on Breathing:
The permanent gases in gas we exhale are 4% to 5% by volume more carbon dioxide and 4% to 5% by volume less oxygen than was inhaled.
If I started ...
- 5,997
8
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1
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6k
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Why does gaseous HCl not change dry blue litmus paper to red?
I am doing a practical in lab, in which HCl is to be evolved. I found that when blue litmus is near the evolved gas, it doesn't turn red. But, when litmus is dipped in water and then brought near the ...
1
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0
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813
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Calculating the pH of soft drink [closed]
Me and my classmates are doing an experiment in order to determine the pH of Sprite. We are going to conduct a titration with NaOH.
We are taking under consideration that the citric acid in Sprite is ...
5
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1
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83
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Help with idea for an optical pH sensor
I am experimenting at home with the idea of making an optical pH sensor that can read the colour of pH indicator using photodiodes.
I am wondering if there is some kind of ion permeable membrane that ...
- 151
2
votes
0
answers
112
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How to slow/prevent corrosion of a steel post
I have a steel post set in limestone, about 18-20 inches deep, with some concrete around it.
I just noticed that I have about 6 inches of water inside the post. The limestone had a small seam in it ...
- 121
6
votes
4
answers
11k
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How is seawater alkaline?
If when water and carbon dioxide react they form carbonic acid, carbonate, and bicarbonate, how does seawater still have a pH of around 8? Doesn't a compound need an hydroxide ion to be a base?
- 165
29
votes
1
answer
2k
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Why did the Rio 2016 pool water turn green?
One of the swimming pools at Rio 2016 Olympics has turned green:
While proliferation of algae is a likely culprit, there have been some alternative explanations offered by local organizers. CNN has ...
- 23.9k
2
votes
1
answer
638
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Bleach in drain cleaners
I have a clogged pipe in my bathroom so I went to the store to get something to unclog it. Basically there are two types that you can find in my area:
Sodium hydroxide pellets
"Liquid plumber" ...
- 996
11
votes
3
answers
32k
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Why does the pH of soft drinks get lower as they go flat?
I am doing an investigation about the chemistry of soft drinks and as part of this I observed the effect of time on the pH of soft drinks fully expecting the pH to increase as the carbonic acid, a ...
- 111
0
votes
1
answer
9k
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Composition and pH of water produced by air conditioners
I would like to know if there are specific studies or research regarding the condensed water that is generated by air conditioners.
Many people feel that this water is acid and corrosive but could ...
Alessandro Mittino
1
vote
2
answers
636
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Wood Hydrolysis
According to this article on Live Strong,
children have an average saliva pH of 7.5, while adults tend to be more acidic, with a saliva pH of 6.5 or lower.
Even though a pH of 6 is not very ...
- 123
0
votes
1
answer
2k
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pH of bleach solution slowly decreasing?
I work within a science department in a school. We are demonstrating Universal Indicator and something odd has happened. Our bleach solution (~2.5% Sodium hypochlorite) turns blue when UI is added but ...
- 1
7
votes
1
answer
488
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Amending soil pH to change the color of hydrangea flowers
I would like to ensure that my hydrangeas are blue. I am told that adding ammonium sulfate or aluminium sulfate will cause the soil to be more acidic. I am also told that adding elemental sulfur will ...
- 71
3
votes
2
answers
36k
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What ratio of bicarb to vinegar do I need in order for the result to be pH neutral?
This question stems from one I just asked over at Seasoned Advice, where my recipe tasted decidedly off because the pH was wrong.
The recipe called for $\pu{16 g}$ bicarb of soda (sodium bicarbonate, $...
user13121
5
votes
1
answer
908
views
Explanation for behavior of acetic acid in aquaponic/hydroponic systems?
Because aquaponics is hydroponics with fish & bacteria, options for adjusting pH are limited.
Primarily people use phosphoric acid, hydrochloric acid, and nitric acid (heavily diluted). A less ...
- 153
1
vote
2
answers
256
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How can water with a very low hardness have substantial buffer capacity?
My freshwater fish tank has a pH of 5.8 and a KH value in excess of 40 or 720+ppm while still maintaining a water hardness of 20 ppm or GH< 1 now I am a math/phsyics student but I have taken both ...
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7
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1
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2k
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What is the reason a grain of salt alters the perceived bitterness of coffee by such a high degree?
Coffee served hot can be quite bitter (presumably high pH).
Several people I have known will add a single grain of salt to the coffee - which reduces the perceived bitterness.
My question is: What ...
- 833
2
votes
1
answer
3k
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Chemical reasons for choosing Salt Water or Chlorinated pool?
I am currently researching as too which is better for maintaining the chemical balance in a swimming pool. I have obviously tried the standard Google search for ...
- 123
24
votes
2
answers
30k
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Why are the majority of cleaning solutions basic?
When testing for pH for common household cleaning products, such as dishwasher fluid, I noticed that majority of them tend to be basic? Why is that? Do acid make good cleaning solutions as well?
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