The pH of milk is 6.0 while the pH of lemon juice is 2.0. Which of the following statements is true?
a) The milk is 4 times more acidic than the lemon juice.
b) The milk is 4 times more basic than the lemon juice.
c) The milk is 10 000 times more acidic than the lemon juice.
O d) The milk is 10 000 times more basic than the lemon juice.

Option (d) The milk is 10000 times more basic than the lemon juice.

Explanation:

The following data were obtained from the question:

pH of milk = 6

pH of lemon juice = 2

To know which option is correct, let us find the ratio of the concentration of Hydrogen ion, H+ of the the milk to that of the lemon.

This is illustrated below:

For milk:

pH = 6

Hydrogen ion concentration, [H+] =?

pH = –Log [H+]

6 = –Log [H+]

– 6 = Log [H+]

[H+] = Antilog (– 6)

[H+] = 1x10^-6 M

For lemon juice:

This is illustrated below

pH = 2

Hydrogen ion concentration, [H+] =?

pH = –Log [H+]

2 = –Log [H+]

– 2 = Log [H+]

[H+] = Antilog (– 2)

[H+] = 0.01 M

Next we shall determine the ratio of the concentration of Hydrogen ion, [H+] of milk to that of the lemon juice. This is illustrated below:

[H+] of milk : [H+] of lemon juice

[H+] of milk / [H+] of lemon juice

=> 1x10^-6 / 0.01

=> 1 / 10000

[H+] of milk : [H+] of lemon juice

=> 1 : 10000

Note: the higher the hydrogen ion concentration, [H+], the more acidic the substance will be and the lesser the hydrogen ion concentration, [H+], the more basic the substance will be.

From the above illustration, we can see that the milk is 10000 times more basic than the lemon juice..