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AAT Bioquest

What happens to the pH value of a diluted acid?

Posted May 24, 2024


Answer

When an acid is diluted, its pH value increases. This is because dilution results in a decrease in the concentration of H+ ions. pH is used to indicate the nature of a solution. Acidic solutions have a pH less than 7. Highly concentrated acids have a very low pH of around 1- 2. As water is added to dilute the acid, the concentration of H+ ions decreases, which increases the pH of the solution towards 7, which is the pH of neutral water. As more water is added and the acid becomes more diluted, the pH becomes keeps increasing till it becomes 7. At this point, the pH remains constant at 7 and does not increase further even if more water is added.

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