In a solution where the concentration of an acid is greater than the concentration of the conjugate base, which of the following is true about the relationship of pH to ?
A. pH is greater than
B. pH is less than
C. pH and are equal
D. pH and are unrelated
B
The answer can be derived from the Henderson-Hasselbach equation. If the concentration of the acid is greater than the concentration of the base, the term in the logarithm is greater than 1 and the second term on the right side of the equation must be positive (logarithms of fractions between 0 and 1 are negative). The pH value must then be less than the value.
