You've been experiencing acid indigestion lately, and you'd like a quick fix for the problem. You do a little research on the Internet and discover that your problem is caused by excess stomach acid. In the pharmacy aisles, however, you're having a little trouble deciding what to purchase to address the problem. At the pharmacy counter, the clerk recommends that you purchase PEPCID AC or Alka-Seltzer tablets. You hypothesize that a tablet of PEPCID AC can neutralize more stomach acid than a tablet of Alka-Seltzer. If you placed a tablet of each antacid in a beaker of acid at an initial pH of 2, which of the following experimental results would support your hypothesis? A. After 1 hour, the pH of the solution in the PEPCID AC beaker was 7.9 and the pH of the solution in the Alka-Seltzer beaker was 9.6. B. It took 3 minutes for the PEPCID AC tablet to fully dissolve, and it took 5 minutes for the Alka-Seltzer tablet to fully dissolve. C. After 1 hour, the pH of the solution in the PEPCID AC beaker was 9.2 and the pH of the solution in the Alka-Seltzer beaker was 8.3. D. After 1 hour, the pH of the solution in the PEPCID AC beaker was equal to that of the pH of the solution in the Alka-Seltzer beaker.

The degree of acidity or alkalinity/basicity of a substance is its pH. The value of pH ranges from 1 to 14 with the former being extreme acidity and the latter being extreme alkalinity while pH 7 is considered neutral.

Hence, any pH below 7 is considered acidic and above 7 is considered alkaline.

Reactions involving equal volumes of an acid and a base can end in acidic, alkaline or neutral pH depending on the strength of the acid/base involved;

Equal volumes of strong acid with strong base will result in neutral pH
Equal volumes of weak acid with strong base will result in alkaline pH
Equal volume of strong acid with weak base will result in acidic pH

If substance A and B reacts with equal volume of the same acid under the same condition and the end result of A is a solution with pH of 9.2 and that of B is a pH of 8.3, it simply means substance A is a stronger base than substance B.

Hence, the only outcome that supports the hypothesis that a tablet of PEPCID AC can neutralize more stomach acid than a tablet of Alka-Seltzer is that the pH of the solution in the PEPCID AC beaker was 9.2 and the pH of the solution in the Alka-Seltzer beaker was 8.3 after being subjected to the same condition.

If an indigestion is due to excess stomach acid, the only way to reduce the acidity is to consume a substance that will decrease the degree of acidity in the stomach. This means that the patient will need to consume something that is alkaline in order to increase the pH.