• Question: Why is pH written with a small "p" and a capital "H"

    Asked by kookieboi to Kate, Mark U, Tess, Yue on 1 May 2012. This question was also asked by ells8, lilltemisslucielawsonbraniacgirl.
    • Photo: Yue Zheng

      Yue Zheng answered on 1 May 2012:

      Hi kookieboi! I have never thought about this!!
      pH stands for Potential Hydrogen, pH measures how much acid in a solution, and hydrogen is the major component of acids.
      H stands for hydrogen hence it is in capital—but not quite sure why potential is not captialises. My guess is to avoid the confusion with P for phosphate.
      hope this helps.

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