Question

Which of the following solutions has a greater concentration of hydroxide ions? Solution A has a pOH of 6.1. Solution B has a pOH of 12.5.

Select the correct answer below:


Solution A
Solution B
The concentrations are the same.
There is not enough information.

Answer 1

The pOH of a solution is related to the concentration of hydroxide ions (OH–) by the formula pOH = -log[OH–]. The higher the pOH, the lower the concentration of hydroxide ions, and vice versa.

In this case, Solution A has a pOH of 6.1, while Solution B has a pOH of 12.5. Therefore, Solution A has a higher concentration of hydroxide ions than Solution B.

To see why, we can use the formula [OH–] = 10^(-pOH). Plugging in the pOH values, we get:

[OH–] for Solution A = 10^(-6.1) = 7.94 x 10^(-7) mol/L

[OH–] for Solution B = 10^(-12.5) = 3.16 x 10^(-13) mol/L

As we can see, the concentration of hydroxide ions in Solution A is significantly higher than in Solution B. Therefore, the correct answer is Solution A.