The pH scale classifies solutions as acidic, neutral, or basic. Which of the following correctly matches the ranges?

• A. 0-6 acidic, 7 neutral, 8-14 basic.
• B. 1-5 acidic, 6 neutral, 7-9 basic.
• C. 2-6 acidic, 7 neutral, 8-13 basic.
• D. 0-6 acidic, 7 neutral, 8-14 basic.

Answer: (D)

The pH scale measures how acidic or basic a solution is, with lower values being more acidic, 7 exactly neutral, and higher values more basic. At room temperature, the commonly used ranges are 0–6 for acidic, 7 for neutral, and 8–14 for basic. This matches the standard classification because it includes the full span of values from highly acidic (near 0) through neutral (7) to highly basic (up to 14). Other ranges that start acidic at 1 or 2 miss the most acidic values near 0, or that place neutral at a value other than 7 or define basic only starting above 9 don’t align with the usual scale.