6.

5
Making Connections: Logarithmic
Scales in the Physical Sciences
The number of hydronium ions in a typical substance indicates
how acidic or alkaline it is. Amounts can range from about
1  1015 mol/L (moles per litre) to 0.1 mol/L. In order to
make it easier to compare such a vast range of quantities,
logarithms are used. What effect does this have?

The pH scale is an example of the application of logarithmic

functions in the field of chemistry. Logarithmic scales are
often used in situations in which a variable ranges over
several orders of magnitude, or powers of 10.

Example 1 pH Scale
The pH scale is used to measure the acidity or alkalinity of a chemical CONNECTIONS
solution. It is defined as pH  log [H], where [H] is the concentration You will learn more about pH,
of hydronium ions, measured in moles per litre. acids, and bases if you study
chemistry.
Acidic Neutral Alkaline

pH 1.0 7.0 14.0

Concentration (mol/L) 101 107 1014

a) Tomato juice has a hydronium ion concentration of approximately

0.0001 mol/L. What is its pH?
b) Blood has a hydronium ion concentration of approximately 4  107 mol/L.
Is blood acidic or alkaline?
c) Orange juice has a pH of approximately 3. What is the concentration of
hydronium ions in orange juice?
d) Which has a greater concentration of hydronium ions, orange juice or
tomato juice, and by how much?

Solution
a) To find the pH of tomato juice, substitute its hydronium ion concentration
into the equation.
pH  log [H]
 log 0.0001
 (4)
4
The pH of tomato juice is 4.

6.5 Making Connections: Logarithmic Scales in the Physical Sciences • MHR 349
 b) Substitute the hydronium ion concentration of blood into the equation, and
use a scientific or graphing calculator to evaluate the common logarithm.
pH  log [H]
 log (4  107)
⬟ 6.4
Blood has a pH of approximately 6.4, which is below the neutral value
of 7.0. Therefore, blood is acidic.
c) The pH of orange juice is given. To find its concentration of hydronium
ions, rearrange the equation to express it in terms of [H].
pH  log [H]
pH  log [H] Multiply both sides by 1.
10pH  [H] Rewrite in exponential form.
Substitute the known pH and solve for [H].
[H]  103
 0.001
Therefore, the hydronium ion concentration in orange juice is 0.001 mol/L.
d) The pH and hydronium ion concentrations in tomato juice and orange
juice are summarized in the table.
Tomato Juice Orange Juice
pH 4 3
Hydronium Ion
0.0001 0.001
Concentration (mol/L)

Orange juice has a greater concentration of hydronium ions than tomato

juice, by a ratio of
0.001  10
__
0.0001
Notice that a pH difference of 1 corresponds to a tenfold increase in
hydronium ion concentration.

CONNECTIONS There are several other areas in which logarithmic scales are applied in the
A decibel is equal to one tenth physical sciences. For example, how the human ear perceives sound intensity
of a bel (B). can be described using a logarithmic scale. The decibel scale provides a
convenient way of comparing sound levels that range over several orders of
magnitude. Each increase of 10 decibels (dB) represents a tenfold increase in
sound intensity, or loudness.

350 MHR • Advanced Functions • Chapter 6

Example 2 Decibel Scale
Some common sound levels are indicated on Loud
the decibel scale shown. Rocket 200 Potentially fatal

The difference in sound levels, in decibels,

can be found using the equation Jet engine 160

()I
2  1  10 log _2 , where 2  1 is the
I1
I
Rock concert speaker 150
Pain threshold

difference in sound levels, in decibels, and _2

I1 Symphony (peak) 120
is the ratio of their sound intensities, where Maximum stereo output 100
Niagara Falls 90 Protective hearing equipment
I is measured in watts per square metre (W/m2). Normal city traffic 85 recommended
Shout 80
a) How many times as intense as a whisper Normal conversation 60
is the sound of a normal conversation?
b) The sound level in normal city traffic is
Whisper 30 Barely audible
approximately 85 dB. The sound level while
riding a snowmobile is about 32 times as Rustle of leaves 10
intense. What is the sound level while
Quiet
riding a snowmobile, in decibels?

Solution
a) Substitute the given decibel levels for a normal conversation and a
whisper, and solve for the ratio of their sound intensities.
I
()
2  1  10 log _2
I1

I
()
60  30  10 log _2
I1

I
()
30  10 log _2
I1

I
3  log _2
I1() I2
Solve for _ .
I1

I
103  _2 Rewrite in exponential form.
I1
I
1000  _2
I1

The ratio of these intensities is 1000. This means that to the human ear,
a normal conversation sounds 1000 times as intense as a whisper!

6.5 Making Connections: Logarithmic Scales in the Physical Sciences • MHR 351
 b) The ratio of the intensity of the sound while riding a snowmobile to the
intensity of the sound of normal city traffic is given as 32. Substitute this
and the given decibel level for normal city traffic into the equation and
solve for the decibel level of the sound while riding a snowmobile.

2  1  10 log _2
I
I1 ()
2  85  10 log 32
2  10 log 32  85
2 ⬟ 100
The sound level while riding a snowmobile is approximately 100 dB.

Example 3 Richter Scale

The magnitude, M, of an earthquake is measured using the Richter scale,
which is defined as M  log _
I0()
I , where I is the intensity of the earthquake

being measured and I0 is the intensity of a standard, low-level earthquake.

a) How many times as intense as a standard earthquake is an earthquake
measuring 2.4 on the Richter scale?
b) What is the magnitude of an earthquake 1000 times as intense as a
standard earthquake?

Solution
I:
a) Substitute M  2.4 into the equation and solve for _
I0
M  log _
()I
I0

( II )
2.4  log _
0

102.4 I
_ Rewrite in exponential form.
I0
I
251.19 ⬟ _
I0
An earthquake measuring 2.4 on the Richter scale is approximately
251 times as intense as a standard earthquake.
I  1000 and solve for M:
b) Substitute _
I0
I
M  log _
I0 ()
 log 1000
3
An earthquake that is 1000 times as intense as a standard earthquake
has a magnitude of 3.

352 MHR • Advanced Functions • Chapter 6

< KEY CONCEPTS
>
Logarithmic scales provide a convenient method of comparing
values that typically have a very large range.
Several phenomena in the physical sciences can be described using
logarithmic scales.
The pH scale is defined as pH  log [H], where H is the hydronium
ion concentration in a substance.
The difference in sound levels, in decibels, can be found by using

()I
the equation 2  1  10 log _2 , where I1 and I2 are the intensities
I1
of the two sounds, in watts per square metre.

Communicate Your Understanding

C1 a) In what types of situations are logarithmic scales used?
b) Why are they used?
C2 How can you tell if a chemical is acidic, alkaline, or neutral?
Use examples to illustrate your answer.
C3 Consider the following statement: “According to the decibel scale,
a whisper is three times as loud as the rustle of leaves.” Is this
statement true? Explain.

A Practise
For help with questions 1 to 5, refer to Example 1. 5. Use Technology Acetic acid (vinegar)
1. Determine the pH of a solution with each has a hydronium ion concentration of
hydronium ion concentration. 1.9  103 mol/L. Suppose you want to
a) 0.01 b) 0.000 034 use a graphing calculator to view the graph
of the pH function.
c) 109 d) 1.5  1010
Reasoning and Proving
2. Determine the hydronium ion concentration,
Representing Selecting Tools
in moles per litre, of a solution with each pH.
Problem Solving
a) 11 b) 3
Connecting Reflecting
c) 8.5 d) 4.4 Communicating

3. The hydronium ion concentration of most

chemicals varies from about 1015 mol/L to
0.1 mol/L. Given this fact, why do you
suppose that the pH scale was created
a) in terms of a logarithmic function
b) with a factor of 1
4. Determine the pH of a solution with a
hydronium ion concentration of
a) 0.000 01 b) 2.5  1011
a) What window settings would you choose
in order to read the pH value of acetic acid
from the graph?
b) Use the graph to determine the pH level of
acetic acid.
c) Verify this result using the equation.

6.5 Making Connections: Logarithmic Scales in the Physical Sciences • MHR 353
For help with questions 6 to 8, refer to Example 2.
6. How many times as intense is the sound of a
shout as the sound of a
a) conversation b) whisper
7. A loud car stereo has a decibel level of 110 dB.
How many times as intense as the sound of
a loud car stereo is the sound of a rock
concert speaker?
B Connect and Apply
For help with questions 9 to 11, refer to Example 3.
9. On September 26, 2001, an earthquake in
North Bay, Ontario, occurred that was 10 000
times as intense as I0. What was the measure of
this earthquake on the Richter scale?
10. On February 10, 2000, an earthquake
happened in Welland, Ontario, that measured
2.3 on the Richter scale.
a) How many times as intense was this as a
standard low-level earthquake?
b) On July 22, 2001, an earthquake in St.
Catharines measured 1.1 on the Richter
scale. How many times as intense as the
St. Catharines earthquake was the
Welland earthquake?
11. The most intense earthquakes measured
have had a value of about 8.9 on the Richter
scale. How do these earthquakes compare in
intensity to a standard, low-level earthquake?
12. The stellar magnitude scale compares the
brightness of stars using the equation
()
b
m2  m1  log _1 ,
b2
where m1 and m2 are the apparent magnitudes
of the two stars being compared (how bright
they appear in the sky) and b1 and b2 are their
brightness (how much light they actually emit).
This relationship does not factor in how far
from Earth the stars are.
354 MHR • Advanced Functions • Chapter 6
8. The sound intensity of a pin drop is about
__ 1
of the sound intensity of a normal
30 000
conversation. What is the decibel level of a
pin drop?
a) Sirius is the brightest-appearing star in our
sky, with an apparent magnitude of 1.5.
How much brighter does Sirius appear than
Betelgeuse, whose apparent magnitude is 0.12?
b) The Sun appears about 1.3  1010 times as
brightly in our sky as does Sirius. What is
the apparent magnitude of the Sun?
✓ Achievement Check
13. How bright a star appears can depend on how
much light the star actually emits and how far
away it is. The stellar magnitude scale can be
adjusted to account for distance as follows:
()
M2  M1  log _1
b
b2
Here, M refers to a star’s absolute magnitude,
that is, how brightly it appears from a standard
distance of 10 parsecs (or 32.6 light-years).
The absolute brightness of Sirius is 1.4 and
the absolute brightness of Betelgeuse is 8.1.
a) Which of these two stars is brighter, in
absolute terms, and by how much?
b) Compare this result with your answer to
question 12a). What does this suggest about
these two stars’ distance from Earth?
14. Refer to questions 12 and 13. Which physical
property of stars do you think astronomers
would be more interested in, apparent magnitude
or absolute magnitude, and why?
15. Chapter Problem Astronauts in space have a) How much brighter, in absolute terms, is
just encountered three unknown stars and the brightest of these three stars than the
assigned them temporary names. Their i) second brightest?
absolute magnitudes are recorded.
ii) least bright?
Star Absolute Magnitude b) Assuming that these stars have the same
Cheryl-XI 0.4 apparent brightness, rank them in order of
Roccolus-III 1.8 distance away from the astronaut looking
Biffidus-V 3.2 at them.

C Extend and Challenge

16. Conduct some research, Reasoning and Proving
1 , and
19. Math Contest If logsin x (cos x)  _
2
either on the Internet Representing Selecting Tools
0x_ π , what is the value of sin x?
or in a library, about Problem Solving 2
earthquakes. Where Connecting Reflecting A _1
and when have the Communicating √3
most severe earthquakes
√
5 1
occurred? What were their intensity levels? B __
2
Have there ever been any earthquakes where
2
C _
you live? Write a brief report on your findings.
√
3
17. Conduct some research, either on the Internet
√
51
or in a library, on the brightest stars in our sky. D __
Examine the following properties: 3
1
2 √3
• apparent magnitudes E __
2
• absolute magnitudes
• distance from Earth 20. Math Contest A triangle is constructed so that
its base is a diagonal of a certain square and its
Are there any interesting trends or
area is equal to that of the square. Express the
relationships? Write a brief report of your
length of the altitude of the triangle in terms of
findings. Include in your report a short
the square’s side length, s.
discussion of why stellar magnitudes include
both positive and negative values and how 21. Math Contest If a  b  3 and a2  b2  7,
they are related to each other. then what is the value of a4  b4?
18. There is a logarithmic relationship between A 45 B 47 C 49 D 51 E 81
how bright a luminous object is and how its 22. Math Contest If logb (a )  3, which of the
2

brightness is perceived by the human eye. following is the value of loga (b2)?
Conduct some research on this topic and 5 3 2 4 3
summarize some of the mathematics behind A _ B _ C 2_ D _ E _
3 4 3 3 2
it. Also discuss why this property may be
advantageous to human existence.

6.5 Making Connections: Logarithmic Scales in the Physical Sciences • MHR 355