Acids and Bases - Calculating pH of a Strong Base

Acids and Bases - Calculating pH of a Strong Base KOH is an example of a strong base, which means it dissociates into its ions in aqueous solution. Although the pH of KOH or potassium hydroxide is extremely high (usually ranging from 10 to 13 in typical solutions), the exact value depends on the concentration of this strong base in water. So, its important to know how to perform the pH calculation. Strong Base pH Question What is the pH of a 0.05 M solution of Potassium Hydroxide? Solution Potassium Hydroxide or KOH, is a strong base and will dissociate completely in water to K and OH-. For every mole of KOH, there will be 1 mole of OH-, so the concentration of OH- will be the same as the concentration of KOH. Therefore, [OH-] 0.05 M. Since the concentration of OH- is known, the pOH value is more useful. pOH is calculated by the formula pOH - log [OH-] Enter the concentration found before pOH - log (0.05)pOH -(-1.3)pOH 1.3 The value for pH is needed and the relationship between pH and pOH is given by pH pOH 14 pH 14 - pOHpH 14 - 1.3pH 12.7 Answer The pH of a 0.05 M solution of Potassium Hydroxide is 12.7.