Biology Calculating Molarity

Question

How do you calculate the molarity of hydrogen and hydroxyl ions in an aqueous solution?

Answer 1

Since it's an aqueous solution, we can assume water is the solvent and hydrogen (H+) and hydroxyl (OH-) ions are the solutes. Molarity is found by the equation: Molarity (M)=moles of solute/liters of solution. We would want to determine both how many moles of hydrogen/hydroxyl ions you have and the liters of water in your solution and divide. REMEMBER: In a neutral solution, the molarities of both hydrogen ions and hydroxyl ions are EQUAL. Therefore, in an acidic solution, the molarity of H+ would be higher and vice versa in a basic solution.