Question

What is the primary cause of the decrease in ph when lemon juice is added to water?

Answer 1

The basic constituent of lemon are citric acid (around 5-6%) which makes the pH of lemon acidic (pH=2.2). When lemon juice is added to water which is neutral (pH=7) in nature, there is an increase in the
`[H^+]` ion concentration which means that the solution has turned acidic.

Increase in the
`[H^+]` ion concentration relates to the decrease in the pH of water.

`pH=-log[H^+]`