A laboratory technician prepares 1.0 L of a buffer solution by mixing 0.25 mol of…
CHEMISTRY · Multi-part · A Level · Chemistry · Acids and bases · Acids and bases
Problem
A laboratory technician prepares 1.0 L of a buffer solution by mixing 0.25 mol of acetic acid, CH3COOH, with 0.25 mol of sodium acetate, NaCH3COO.
During an experiment, a small volume of 1.0 M HCl is accidentally introduced into 50.0 mL of this buffer. The technician wants to understand qualitatively how the buffer responds.
(a) Identify the species in the buffer that will react directly with the added HCl. Justify your choice in terms of acid–base conjugate relationships.
(b) Write the balanced net ionic equation for the neutralization reaction that occurs after the addition of HCl.
(c) Describe how the reaction written in part (b) helps to minimize a change in pH of the solution.