Page 2 of 2

Re: Is there a word for adding base to a solution?

Posted: Sat Jan 20, 2018 2:58 pm
by Peter Apps
Jorg's original question was; "You can say "the solutions were acidified by addition of 10 µL formic acid", but what word do you use when adding 10 µL of sodium hydroxide solution?" which is not quite the same as asking what is the antonym of acidify. The answer I proposed is; don't use a word at all.

If you are writing for chemistry students then you can write raise / lower the pH by adding base / acid.

If you are recovering silver then say add HNO3 until litmus paper goes red. To be extra sure I would specify that the litmus paper has to be dipped into the solution - it has limited sensitivity to solution pH when lying on the bench.

Peter

Re: Is there a word for adding base to a solution?

Posted: Sat Jan 20, 2018 5:32 pm
by dblux_
Peter Apps wrote:
Jorg's original question was; "You can say "the solutions were acidified by addition of 10 µL formic acid", but what word do you use when adding 10 µL of sodium hydroxide solution?" which is not quite the same as asking what is the antonym of acidify /and that's why I wrote "the sense of the question"/. The answer I proposed is; don't use a word at all.

If you are writing for chemistry students then you can write raise / lower the pH by adding base / acid /absolutely not, they are really the beginners and they don't know yet the meaning the term pH, but they know the meaning of acidity and alkalinity/.

If you are recovering silver then say add HNO3 until litmus paper goes red. To be extra sure I would specify that the litmus paper has to be dipped into the solution - it has limited sensitivity to solution pH when lying on the bench.
Very funny. I thought I don't need to write for you how to use litmus paper. To be so exact original question was about "saying" not writing scientific papers !
Peter

Re: Is there a word for adding base to a solution?

Posted: Sat Jan 20, 2018 8:36 pm
by Peter Apps
And to be more exact, the original question was " but what word do you use" - I would not use a word, the sentence is completely clear without one. Clearly that was not the sense of the question; Jorg wanted to know what word should he use. He gave no context - you assumed it was for beginner level students, I assumed that it was a description of a process that had been carried out.

Re: Is there a word for adding base to a solution?

Posted: Sat Jan 20, 2018 9:33 pm
by dblux_
IMO it is the right time to close this discussion keeping our own opinions.

Re: Is there a word for adding base to a solution?

Posted: Sun Jan 21, 2018 11:23 pm
by tom jupille
Yeah, it's getting a bit acrimonious. I'm locking the thread