What does a pH meter measure?

What does a pH meter measure?

• A. The acidity or basicity (pH) of a solution
• B. Temperature of a solution
• C. The color of a solution
• D. The concentration of salts

Answer: (A)

A pH meter measures how acidic or basic a solution is. The pH value reflects hydrogen ion activity in the solution and sits on a logarithmic scale from 0 (strongly acidic) to 14 (strongly basic), with 7 being neutral. The device uses a sensitive glass electrode to detect the hydrogen ion activity and converts that electrical signal into a numerical pH reading. Some meters also apply temperature compensation to improve accuracy. This is different from temperature measurements (thermometers), color changes seen with pH indicators, or directly assessing salt concentration (which is measured by conductivity or other methods).

A pH meter measures how acidic or basic a solution is. The pH value reflects hydrogen ion activity in the solution and sits on a logarithmic scale from 0 (strongly acidic) to 14 (strongly basic), with 7 being neutral. The device uses a sensitive glass electrode to detect the hydrogen ion activity and converts that electrical signal into a numerical pH reading. Some meters also apply temperature compensation to improve accuracy. This is different from temperature measurements (thermometers), color changes seen with pH indicators, or directly assessing salt concentration (which is measured by conductivity or other methods).