Bjerrum plot
Okay kiddo, imagine you have a lemonade stand and you want to make the perfect lemonade. You add some water and sugar to your lemon juice and taste it. It's a bit sour, so you decide to add more sugar. You taste it again and it's still a bit sour, so you add even more sugar. But now it's too sweet!
This is kind of like what scientists do when they study how chemicals react with each other. They mix different amounts of chemicals together and check how they react. Some chemicals, like lemon juice, are acidic or sour. And some chemicals, like baking soda, are basic or sweet.
Scientists use something called a "bjerrum plot" to help them understand how acidic or basic these chemicals are. Imagine a graph with lines going up and down like mountains. These mountains show how likely a chemical is to react in different ways.
On the bottom of the graph are different pH levels, which measure how acidic or basic a chemical is. The pH level of 7 is neutral, like water. Anything lower than 7 is acidic, and anything higher than 7 is basic.
Now imagine you're pouring lemon juice into your lemonade. Lemon juice has a very low pH level because it's acidic. So on the bjerrum plot, it sits at the bottom of one of the mountains. But when you add baking soda, which has a high pH level, it sits at the top of a different mountain.
These mountains on the bjerrum plot show how likely different chemicals are to react with each other. When you add lemon juice to baking soda, they react to make carbon dioxide and water. And scientists can use the bjerrum plot to predict how chemicals will react with each other, just like you can predict how sweet or sour your lemonade will be!
This is kind of like what scientists do when they study how chemicals react with each other. They mix different amounts of chemicals together and check how they react. Some chemicals, like lemon juice, are acidic or sour. And some chemicals, like baking soda, are basic or sweet.
Scientists use something called a "bjerrum plot" to help them understand how acidic or basic these chemicals are. Imagine a graph with lines going up and down like mountains. These mountains show how likely a chemical is to react in different ways.
On the bottom of the graph are different pH levels, which measure how acidic or basic a chemical is. The pH level of 7 is neutral, like water. Anything lower than 7 is acidic, and anything higher than 7 is basic.
Now imagine you're pouring lemon juice into your lemonade. Lemon juice has a very low pH level because it's acidic. So on the bjerrum plot, it sits at the bottom of one of the mountains. But when you add baking soda, which has a high pH level, it sits at the top of a different mountain.
These mountains on the bjerrum plot show how likely different chemicals are to react with each other. When you add lemon juice to baking soda, they react to make carbon dioxide and water. And scientists can use the bjerrum plot to predict how chemicals will react with each other, just like you can predict how sweet or sour your lemonade will be!
Related topics others have asked about: