The pH concept was developed in 1909 by Soren Peder Lauritz Sorensen, a

Danish biochemist, in Carlsberg Laboratory. It was revised to the modern pH in 1924

after it became apparent that electromotive force in cells depends on activity rather
than concentration of hydrogen ions. pH concept is a convenient method of
expressing hydrogen ion concentration, which in other term the acidity or basicity of
a substance. By definition,

pH=-log [H+].

The pH scale ranges from 0-14. A neutral solution like water has a pH equal
to 7. A pH value lower than 7, means that the solution is acidic, while a pH value
higher than 7, means that the solution is alkaline or basic. pH measurements are
important in medicine, biology, chemistry, agriculture, forestry, food science,
environmental science, oceanography, civil engineering and many other
applications. See tables below.

Table: pH Scale

Table: pH value of common substances

Substance
Hydrochloric acid

pH
0

Substance
Urine

pH
6.1

Gastric juice

1.6-1.8

Milk

6.3-6.6

Kalamansi

2.2

Blood

7.4

Vinegar

2.4-3.4

Baking soda

Apple

3.0

Detergent

9.5-10.5

Carbonated drink
Orange

3.1
3.5

Ammonia
Bleaching powder

11
12

Tomato

4.2

NaOH

14

A way to measure the pH of a liquid is the use of pH Meter. It consists of a

special measuring probe (a glass electrode) connected to an electronic meter that
measures and displays the pH reading. Some digital pH bench meter costs Php. 18,
ooo while simple pH meters cost more or less Php. 2,000.
Another way to determine pH of solutions visually is by the use of pH
indicators, a halochromic solution. It causes the color of the solution to change
depending on the pH value. There are known natural indicators extracted from red
cabbage, violets, roses, camote tops, red apple skin, beets, cherries, red onion,
yellow onion, radish skin, tomato and turnip skin. See table below.

Table: Common Indicators

Indicator

pH at which Color

Color at Lower pH

Color at higher pH

Red

Yellow

Changes
Methyl Orange

Methyl Red

Red

Yellow

Litmus

Red

Yellow

Phenolphthalein

Colorless

Red

Thymophthalein

10

Colorless

Blue

Alizarin yellow

11

Yellow

Red

Nature has a way of maintaining constancy. The pH of biological fluids is

maintained by buffers. A buffer solution is an aqueous solution. These solutions
contain a weak acid and its conjugate base, or a weak base and its conjugate acid. It
has a remarkable property of maintaining almost constant pH even though a strong
acid or base is added to the solution.
A very good example of pH buffer is our blood, which is buffered by a
bicarbonate-carbonic acid buffer. As we know, the drinks like fruit juices that we drink
are very acidic but because our blood is a pH buffer, our blood doesnt lower its pH
value that low. Industrially, buffer solutions are used in fermentation processes and in
setting the correct conditions for dyes used in colouring fabrics. They are also used
in chemical analysis and calibration of pH meters.
An aqueous solution is a solution in which the solvent is water. The word
aqueous means pertaining to, related to, similar to, or dissolved in water. In these
solutions within organisms, most of the water molecules are intact. However, some
of the water molecules actually break apart (dissociate) into ions. The ions formed
are called hydrogen ions (H+) and hydroxide ions (OH-). For proper functioning of
chemical processes within organisms, right balance of H+ ions and negatively
charged ions, such as OH-, is critical.

Calcium carbonate, (CaCO3), which is one of the most widespread minerals,

is believed to be a potential pH buffer. It is the chief constituent of limestone and
marble, and is also the main component of the shells of marine organisms, snails,
pearls, and eggshells. Utilization of this compound for the formulation of blackboard
chalk is common. Another common utilization of calcium carbonate is when it is used
medicinally as a calcium supplement or as an antacid, but excessive consumption
can be hazardous.
Like any other marine organism with shells, crabs , which are crustaceans
characterized by a hard crust or shell, have shells comprised almost 95% of CaCo3.
They have as many as 19 pairs of appendages with five pairs of which are
developed into walking legs. Their size ranges from a pea crab, which is may be less
than 1.5mm from leg tip to leg tip, to the Japanese spider crab, which is may be
3.5m from leg tip to leg tip.
Crabs gender and age, which is essential for our study, is defined by our
table below.

Table: Crabs gender and age

The male crab, or jimmy, has blue claws

and an underside "apron" which looks

The she-crab or immature female crab

like an upside-down T or the

has an inverted V-shaped apron.

"Washington Monument." Large male

Females have orange tipped claws.

crabs are also called channelers.

She is called a sook. A Sponge Crab is

A mature female has a widened apron

a female that has an egg mass that looks

with a semicircular bell shape that looks

like an orange sponge on her belly. Let

like the U.S. Capitol building.

these go, so there will be many

productive crab harvests in the future.

Crabs, as a part of the phylum Anthropoda in class Crustacea, are usually

valued food to many. They feed on animal and vegetable garbage themselves.
Without them, the sea would become polluted and clogged with the decaying animal
and vegetable matter that they normally eat.

Here in the Philippines, more people recognize crabs as a yummy

recipe than a very helpful animal to our bodies of water. No matter how challenging it
is to open and collect the meat in it, Filipinos always have this dish in most
occasions. Some cook it as Rellenong Alimango, some as Crab Meat with
Cauliflowers and some as Chilli Crabs, but what happens after satisfying their
tummies? People throw it. Such a waste, isnt it?
But weve got better ideas with these forlorn crab shells. Well try to
change their fate from being zero to hero. Youre asking how? Stay tuned for the next
chapters of this research paper.