Acids, Bases, & pH Levels

Questions & Answers

What makes an acid an acid?
     An acid when regarding foods usually taste sour, are corrosive to metals, change litmus, and becomes less acidic when they're mixed with bases. Most of the food we consume are acidic. When an acid is present the concentration of hydrogen ions is higher which then strengthens the acid.
What makes a base a base?
     In a base hydroxide is the dominant element which causes it to dissolve in water, which therefore makes it a base rather than an acid. Also a base is transformed when mixed with an acid which causes it to become less basic. 
Why is water neutral?
     Water is neutral because despite the production of hydrogen ions and hydroxide ions it is still not considered a base or an acid. However, in some circumstances acid rain is formed which does result in water becoming an acid with other elements.  
How do antacids work?
      The opposite of an acid is a base and that is exactly what an antacid is. When adding a base to an acid it decreases the amount of acid because the base in counteracting with the acid to sustain the pain and balance the acid levels within ones stomach. This results is the antacid working causing the pain to decrease.

pH Levels of Antacids

"Dead Simple" A Review By Kandace Cook

The article "Dead Simple" Way to See Atomic Structure, is an article regarding a new study that has proven to show that there are new techniques that allow researchers to observe structures of molecules. In order to obtain this information researchers are taking and obtaining the first direct images of how water coats surfaces. These images potentially allow thousands of molecules, to be viewed and researched. This articles states from the words of James Heath, a professor at the California Institute of Technology, that almost all surfaces have a coating of water on them, and that water dominates interfacial properties. The idea behind this conclusion is that although water molecules may cover many surfaces they are nearly impossible to measure because of their flexibility and inability to stay still.
Throughout this article the pragmatic situation occurring was having the ability to capture and observe molecules on a molecular level. Well by total accident Heath, and other colleagues discovered that graphene sheets were "atomically conformal." With this single accomplishment professors and scientists, for the first time ever were able to view the detailed atomic structure of water molecules. And with that a new discovery was made and has caused many supporting details to be the base of new innovations that are to come in our ever changing world. With these ever changing discoveries it is hard to tell where scientific changes may occur, but one thing is for sure, only time can tell on where these discoveries will take us.

Double-Blind, Placebo