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While buffers
resist pH
change when acids or bases are added to them, they do change pH to some degree
until the buffer is exhausted. Working a problem of this type requires two
concepts: first, you need to do the stoichiometry to find out how much of the
buffer was used up by the acid or base. After this, you need to use the
equilibrium constant expression to compute the concentration of H+,
which gives you the pH. The basic procedure is as follows:
- Identify all the species. Write the reaction between the buffer and the
added acid or base.
- Compute the number of moles of acid or base added. Do stoichiometry to
figure out how much buffer reacts with the added acid or base. If all the
buffer reacts, compute the pH based on the amount of added acid or base left
after the reaction. If not, go to the next step.
- Write the equilibrium expression for the buffer
- Use the usual method of computing
the equilibrium concentrations of a solution to compute the concentration
of H+
- Compute the pH from the [H+]
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