Meaning & use
alkalinity
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Meanings
noununcountabletechnicalchemistry
the ability of a water solution to neutralize acid, usually measured by titration.
Grammar: Uncountable; used mainly in scientific or technical contexts, often with 'total' or 'high/low'.
Patterns
- total alkalinity
- alkalinity of something
- high/low alkalinity
The pool's alkalinity was too low, so the water was corrosive to the metal fittings.
Scientists measured the alkalinity of the lake to see how it would react to acid rain.
High alkalinity in the soil can stop some plants from taking up nutrients.
noununcountabletechnicalchemistry
the state or quality of being alkaline; the presence of alkali.
Grammar: Uncountable; a more general use, often in everyday or school contexts.
Patterns
- the alkalinity of something
- increase/decrease alkalinity
The alkalinity of the solution turned the litmus paper blue.
Adding lime increases the alkalinity of the soil.
The taste of the water reflects its slight alkalinity.
Common combinations
- total alkalinity
- The test kit showed a total alkalinity of 120 parts per million.
- high alkalinity
- High alkalinity can make the water feel slippery.
- low alkalinity
- Low alkalinity makes the water more likely to change pH suddenly.
- measure the alkalinity
- We need to measure the alkalinity before adding any chemicals.
- alkalinity level
- Check the alkalinity level every week.
Synonyms and how they differ
- basicity
- A more general chemical term for the quality of being a base; alkalinity is more specific to water's acid-neutralizing capacity.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: alkalinity or pH? alkalinity or alkalosis?
alkalinity vs pH
pH measures how acidic or basic a solution is, while alkalinity measures how much acid it can neutralize. A solution can have high pH but low alkalinity.
alkalinity vs alkalosis
Alkalosis is a medical condition in which the body fluids become too alkaline; alkalinity is the chemical property itself.
Practice
The pool's ______ was too low, so the water kept changing pH suddenly.
Choose one answer.
Alkalinity is the capacity to resist pH changes, so a low value explains sudden pH swings. 'pH' itself is a measure of current acidity, not the buffering capacity, and 'acidity' would mean the opposite problem.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “alkalinity”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.