science help please ?

Question

i need help on these two questions please :

1. many insects, such as fire ants, inject formic acid, a weak acid, when they bite or sting. Describe the type of compound that should be used to treat the bite.

2. farmers often can taste their soil to determine whether the soil has the correct acidity for their plants.How would taste help the farmer determine the acidity of the soil ?

if you know any answers to these two questions . please answer them b/c i dont understand them . please and thank you.

Answer 1

1 - I'm guessing something like sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) would do the trick. What you want is something alkaline/basic to neutralize the formic acid.

2 - Sour taste is one characteristic of acids.

Answer 2

Yeah, what Steve said.
To neutralise the acid/alkali you must test the pH level.
pH 1-6 = Acid (Hydrochloric acid in your stomach)
pH 7 = Neutral
pH 8-14 = Alkali (Saliva in your mouth, and toothpaste)
The higher the number and lower the number, the more corrosive it is.
Acid in the stomach to kill the bacteria and provide an acidic medium for the enzymes to act on proteins, and saliva to neutralise the acid because of the bacteria in the mouth with food remains)

So for example :
You have an acid of pH 3, you must add an alkali of pH 11.
Why?
(Acid + Alkali) divide by 2 (cause it's 2 solutions) = Neutral solution.
Tried this with hydrochloric acid and sodium hyrdroxide with the universal indicator to show the pH level.

And farmers don't taste the soil with their tongue, you can use an indicator like litmus paper/solution, universal indicator, potassium permanganate solution, and yada yada...

Answer 3

1. An alkaline compound such as baking soda, NaHCO3, or washing soda, Na2CO3, in water.

2. Acid soil tastes sour.