Soil acidity (and acidity of anything else, for that matter) is measured on a scale of 1 to 14. Everything below 7 is considered to be acidic. Everything above is considered to be alkaline. Most garden plants thrive at a pH between 6 and 7.5. The reason a pH between 6 and 7.5 is optimal for garden plants is that between 6 and 7.5, phosphorus in the soil is soluble - meaning that it dissolves in water and is taken up by plant roots.
Some of the factors that affect the rate at which particles diffuse include: the particle's molecular weight, temperature, concentration difference, diffusion distance, permeability and surface area. Pressure is also known to affect the rate of diffusion since it increases the speed of molecules.
This is an experiment to examine how the Surface Area / Volume Ratio affects the rate of diffusion and how this relates to the size and shape of living organisms. The surface area to volume ratio in living organisms is very important. Nutrients and oxygen need to diffuse through the cell membrane and into the cells.