Overview

pH Overview

pH is a unit of measure (ranging from 0 to 14pH) indicating the degree of acidity or alkalinity of a solution. pH tests are the most commonly performed measurements in water analysis and reports the negative log of the hydrogen ion activity of a solution which is an indicator of acidity or alkalinity. Solutions with a pH less than 7 are considered acidic, solutions with a pH higher than 7 are known as bases, and solutions with a pH of exactly 7 are neutral.

The pH scale is logarithmic so, for example, if sample A is 1 pH less than Sample B, this means that Sample A is 10 times more acidic then Sample B. A difference of 1 pH represents a ten-fold difference in acidity.