Excerpts from student journals:
Do you know what pH is? pH is how acidic or base a liquid is. If you have a swimming pool it should be around 7 on the pH scale, which is neutral. The pH scale is 0-14, closer to 14 is the strongest base, and closer to 0 is the most acidic liquid. If someone has a swimming pool, and it is more acidic than it should be, people’s skin will burn. If it is more of a base than it should be, people’s skin will turn slimy. pH stands for potential hydrogen. One example of a base is baking soda. Some examples of acidic liquids are; coke, root beer and vinegar. At the BiMathlon, we tested the pH of liquids by using a probe hooked up to a computer. The three acids we tested were coke, coffee and vinegar. We also tested water, which was neutral, as it should have been, and ammonia, which was a base.
Andrew
Last time at BiMathlon, we learned about pH. What is pH you may ask? pH stands for potential hydrogen, and we humans have a pH of 7.2, fairly neutral, as solutions go, seeing as pH is measure on a scale of 0.1 to 13.9 -- .1 being acid, 13.9 being a base, and 7 as a neutral. The higher a pH, the more the solution is a base. The lower the pH, the more of an acid. If a swimming pool is too acidy, your skin will burn. If the pool is a base, your skin will be slimy.
We did a simple experiment on pH, testing the pH of multiple liquids using litmus, or pH testing paper, and using computer probes connected to a computer program that graphed the pH. Coffee and vinegar were acids, as well as soda. Water was 7.4, a little on the base side. In conclusion, pH is very useful and I learned about computer probes.
Kyle
When I was here at SCOE, I learned many things. One thing I learned was the PH of different solutions. We tested many different ways. One way that I tested was I put in a probe to see what the number was. It would be between 0 and 14. I learned that 7 was a neutral number. I also learned that if there was an acid spill, we would put base in it to make it neutral.
Evan
A few weeks ago I went to SCOE. While I was there, I learned about pH -- acidity as well as alkaline. We put probes in solutions and tested the pH of the solution while trying to get the pH of 7.0, which is neutral. I also learned that the closer the number is to 0, the more acidic the solution was, and the closer the solution was to 14, the more alkaline the solution was. The probes were attached to the computer, so we could see the acidity change. There was also a different handheld probe that showed the information on its own screen.
Alex