If you have ever swum in a pool and your eyes began to sting and turn red, you are aware of the effects on an incorrect pH level
. The pH level measures the concentration of hydronium ions and can be modeled by the function p(t) = –log10 t. The variable t represents the amount of hydronium ions, and p(t) gives the resulting pH level. Water at 25 degrees Celsius has a pH of 7. Anything that has a pH lower than 7 is called acidic, while pH's above 7 are basic or alkaline. Seawater has a pH just over 8, while lemonade has a pH of approximately 3.
1. Create a graph of the pH function. Locate on your graph where the pH value is 0 and where it is 1. You may need to zoom in on your graph. <span>The pH value is 1 at the orange dot, and is 1 at the red dot. </span> <span>The transformation p(t+1) results in a y-intercept. </span>
<span>In this graph, the blue line is the original and first parent function p(t) = –log10 t. The pink line represent p(t) + 1, the transformation shifts up the y-axis by 1, but the p(t) + 1 transformation does not result in a y-intercept like the ones prior. The gold line represents p(t +1), which shifts horizontally by 1 to the left. This does result in a y-intercept, because the graph doesn't completely flip over the line to the other side, and the green line represents -1*p(t), which causes the graph to flip upside down, and doesn't end up as a y- intercept.</span>