Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Science/2023 April 1

= April 1 =

Element 717
What would be the abbreviation for the systematic name of a hypothetical element of atomic number 717? – MrPersonHumanGuy (talk) 10:07, 1 April 2023 (UTC)


 * @MrPersonHumanGuy The IUPAC recommendation shows that 717 = SeptUnSeptium [capitals added for clarity] and hence Sus. Not likely to have a real-world utility any time soon.... Mike Turnbull (talk) 10:39, 1 April 2023 (UTC)

Calculating pH of strong bases by molarity.
I don't believe you can use the pH = 14 - pOH to calculate the pH of strong bases if the pH would otherwise be over 14, right?

I believe the biggest molarity of NaOH and Ca(OH)2 is 4 M and .016 M, per molecular weight. If we used the above formula, and try to calculate the pH of 1 M NaOH and 4 M NaOH, we get:


 * [OH-] = 1 M
 * pH = 14 - pOH
 * pOH = -log[OH-] = -log[1] = 0
 * So pH = 14 - 0 = 14.

But if 4 M,


 * pOH = -log(4) = 0.60
 * pH = 14 - 0.60 = 13.40

Clearly a pH of 4 M base should be higher than 1 M strong base. So looks like the way to solve it is to use the 1.0 * 10^-7 formulas. But are there any other examples of formulas that can have flaws? 2601:249:8200:A640:6192:535F:DD86:406C (talk) 14:07, 1 April 2023 (UTC).
 * I think you made an arithmetic error here: -log(4) = -0.60, so the pH would be 14.60, not 13.40. 2601:646:9882:46E0:A5F2:1021:A63E:67E0 (talk) 02:17, 2 April 2023 (UTC)
 * Thanks, resolved. This was ironic as it was a ChatGPT error. A simple math error, which I later confronted it. I hope it doesn't make it again. 64.107.3.137 (talk) 00:23, 5 April 2023 (UTC).