Jaspreet K.

asked • 07/04/18

The pH reading of a sample of each substance is given. Calculate the hydrogen ion concentration of the substance. (Give your answers in scientific notation, cor

for 5.4 ph value

Ishwar S.

Hello Jaspreet
 
The rules for significant figures are different when it applies to pH and hydrogen ion concentration.  For instance, since the pH value is 5.4, you would ignore the number '5' and see how many significant figures are present after the decimal place.  Since 5.4 is listed to one decimal place (= one significant figure), this means that the hydrogen ion concentration would also be listed to only 1 significant figure.
 
As a result, with a pH of 5.4, [H+] = 4 x 10-6 M (one significant figure), and not 4.0 x 10-6 M (2 significant figures) as stated by Arturo O.
 
FYI, if [H+] was 4.0 x 10-6 M (2 significant figures), then the pH would be have to be written to 2 decimal places, which would be 5.40.
 
Sincerely

Ishwar
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07/04/18

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