Labs / Chemistry
pH Scale Explorer
Choose a strong or weak acid or base and dial in how concentrated it is. Then drag upward inside the beaker to pour in water & dilute it. The liquid acts as a live universal-indicator swatch, and the readouts show how pH, [H⁺], and [OH⁻] are linked through the water equilibrium.
pH 7.00[H⁺] 1.0×10⁻⁷ M[OH⁻] 1.0×10⁻⁷ MNeutral
What to try
- Start with a strong acid at 0.1 M. Each time you dilute it tenfold, how many pH units does it climb — and why doesn't it ever pass 7?
- Set the same concentration for a strong acid and a weak acid. Why is the weak acid's pH so much higher even though the amount dissolved is identical?
- For a weak acid, slide pKₐ from 2 to 10. What does a larger pKₐ tell you about how much of the acid actually gives up its H⁺?
- Watch [H⁺] and [OH⁻] as you move across the scale. Their product barely changes — can you spot the number it always multiplies to?
- Can you make a basic solution turn the beaker green? Which combination of type, concentration, and dilution lands you exactly at neutral?