What is the pH of a 2.5 x 10−3 M HCl solution?Hint: HCl is a strong acid. Pay attention to sig. fig. rules in logarithmic calculations.

The pH of a solution is calculated using the formula:

pH = -log[H+]

Where [H+] is the concentration of hydrogen ions in the solution.

For strong acids like HCl, it completely ionizes in water, so the concentration of H+ ions is equal to the initial concentration of the HCl.

So, in this case, [H+] = 2.5 x 10^-3 M.

Substituting this into the formula gives:

pH = -log(2.5 x 10^-3)

Using a calculator to find the log of 2.5 x 10^-3 gives approximately -2.60.

So, pH = -(-2.60) = 2.60.

Therefore, the pH of a 2.5 x 10^-3 M HCl solution is approximately 2.60.

Remember, when dealing with logarithmic calculations, the number of decimal places in the result should equal the number of significant figures in the original data. In this case, the original data (2.5 x 10^-3) has two significant figures, so the final answer is rounded to two decimal places.