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Neutral - GCSE Chemistry Definition

Reviewed by: Richard Boole

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Neutral has two meanings in GCSE Chemistry, depending on the context:

1. Neutral (pH):

A substance is neutral if it has a pH of 7, meaning it is neither acidic nor alkaline. In a neutral solution, the number of hydrogen ions (H⁺) is equal to the number of hydroxide ions (OH-), making it chemically balanced.

  • Pure water is neutral.

  • Universal indicator stays green in neutral solutions.

This concept is important in acid–alkali reactions and neutralisation.

2. Neutral (charge):

A particle is neutral if it has no overall electrical charge. This means it has an equal number of protons (positive charges) and electrons (negative charges).

  • Atoms are neutral because they have equal numbers of protons and electrons.

This concept is important when studying atoms, ions, and electric charge in chemical bonding.

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Richard Boole

Reviewer: Richard Boole

Expertise: Chemistry Content Creator

Richard has taught Chemistry for over 15 years as well as working as a science tutor, examiner, content creator and author. He wasn’t the greatest at exams and only discovered how to revise in his final year at university. That knowledge made him want to help students learn how to revise, challenge them to think about what they actually know and hopefully succeed; so here he is, happily, at SME.

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