pH paper question?

Question

apart from titrations, how can pH paper be used in biology?

Answer 1

pH paper? I think you are referring to Litmus paper.
Litmus is a water-soluble dye extracted from certain lichens and absorbed on to filter paper. The resulting piece of paper becomes a pH indicator (one of the oldest), used to test materials for acidity. Blue litmus paper turns red under acidic conditions and red litmus paper turns blue under basic (i.e. alkaline) conditions, the color change occurring over the pH range 4.5-8.3 (at 25°C). Neutral litmus paper is purple in color. The active ingredient of Litmus is called Erythrolitmin, and commercial litmus dye is chemically p-Dimethylaminoazobenzenesulfo... acid, sodium salt.
To test the pH of some gases using litmus paper, wet litmus paper is needed. The gas dissolves in the water and thus the reaction can be seen.
Some examples of ways that Litmus can be used in biology are:
you can test your saliva's pH to determine if it is alkaline or acidic. An acidic body provides an atmosphere that cancer and other diseases can grow and thrive in. A reading of 7 is neutral. Numbers below 7 are acidic, and numbers above 7 are alkaline.

The pH is defined as 1/log of the hydrogen ion concentration. pH is from the German potenz H+ . The pH balance in the body is one of the most pertinent factors affecting the health of the body. The ideal pH of the body is indicated when the urine is 6.6 and the saliva is 7.4. These two pH's in the body, one intra cellular, the other extra cellular, must be kept in the proper range for the polarities of the body to be in the proper position for optimum electrical impulses. In other words, nitrogen and oxygen are at the ideal balance. Both pH values need to stay as far away from each other as possible. If both pH values meet, death occurs.

Healthy cells are aerobic, or oxygen breathing, and have a high pH (alkaline). Anaerobic cells are nitrogen breathing, cancerous cells, and they always have a very low pH (acidic). Therefore, having an alkaline body may help to prevent cancer. In addition, alkaline elements help break down fat in the body.

Using pH strips to test saliva pH is helpful when following a high pH diet as a complementary or alternative cancer treatment or therapy for:
breast cancer, lung cancer, prostate cancer, colon cancer, pancreatic cancer, liver cancer, skin cancer, ovarian cancer, stomach cancer, cervical cancer, brain cancer, kidney cancer, testicular cancer, bone cancer, throat cancer, thyroid cancer, gastrointestinal cancer, cancers of the bladder and gallbladder, metastasic melanoma, and cancers in animals including feline, canine, and equine cancer.
Litmus is also an inexpensive way to check streams and rivers for industrial waste streams, to verify the truth of "acid rain" to check the pH of the mash in brewing your corn liquor. It is inexpensive and used correctly, it is a good ball park indicator for pH monitoring. There are certainly more accurate techniques but none are cheaper.

Answer 2

Use it to measure the pH of rain to see if acid rain is an issue in your area. Use it to test the pH of ponds, lakes and streams. Mix a sample of different soils in distilled H20 and test the pH to see what you need to add to grow better crops or flowers.