PH acids and bases – buffers – lecture 5 Alice Johnson

An acid is a compound that releases protons in solution

In water H+ reacts with H2O to give H3O+

A base is a compound that releases hydroxide (OH-) in solution

An acid is a compound that donates protons

A base is a compound that accepts protons

A strong acid completely dissociates into its ions

A weak acid doesn’t completely dissociate into its ions

Strong acids – hydrochloric acid- sulfuric acid – nitric acid

Weak acids – acetic acid – hydrofluoric acid
Strong base – sodium hydroxide – potassium hydroxide – lithium hydroxide
Weak base – ammonia

Acidity of a solution is measured on the concentration of hydronium ions (H3O+) when

dissolved in water

Neutral water has equal amounts of H+ and OH-

Water forms hydronium ions – it’s the presence of the hydronium ions that defines the PH
of a solution

A conjugate acid is a species that is formed after receiving a proton – a base with a hydrogen
ion added to it

A conjugate base is a substance formed when an acid loses a hydrogen Ion.

Basic alkaline solutions have a PH higher than 7

Acidic solutions have a lower PH than 7

PH ranges from 0 to 14

A change in one unit of PH is a 10-fold change in the concentration of (H3O+)

Self-dissociation in water – the reactions s going in both directions at once

The rate of reaction depends on the concentrations

K=[H30+][OH-]
---------------------- k= equilibrium constant
[H2O]^2
In water these three concentrations will rapidly come to an equilibrium and there will be no
further changes

Neutral PH =7

At 25 degrees cel [H3O+] = [OH-] = 1 x 10^7 mol dm-3

In pure water [H2O] is about 55 mol dm-3

Since very little water dissociates [H2O] is very large and considered constant so we can
simplify the equation

We can change the definition of K and call it Kw

Kw = [H3O+][OH-]

Kw is roughly 10^-14 mol^2 dm^-6 at 25 deg cel (room temp)

Kw = (1x10^-7 mol dm^3) ^2

Calculating PH – PH is used to denote the concentration of H3O+

PH = -log10[H3O+]

The PH of a solution minus the log to the base 10 of the hydronium ion concentration

Acid dissociation constant = Ka = [H3O+][A-]

---------------
[H A]

In weak acids the concentration of H3O+ is lower than strong acids of equal concentration
( less weak acid is dissociated

So the PH is higher (although it still less than 7)

pKa = -log10 Ka

PH balance is very important to homeostasis in organisms

Digestion needs to take place at a PH of 2-3 at a very acidic level

And blood must stay in a neutral range at PH 7.35-7.45

Compounds that dissociate in water and produce cations and anions other than OH- and H+
are called salts

The most familiar is sodium chloride (table salt)

Some salts can combine with excess H= and OH- are called buffers

They act like a sponge to soak up acid or base keeping the PH constant

When the buffer is used up it no longer helps regulate PH

Buffers are vital at maintaining PH in organisms

A buffer solution is an aqueous solution consisting of a mixture of a weak acid and its
conjugate base or vice versa

If a strong base is added to a buffer, the weak acid will give up its H+ in order to transform
the base (OH-) into water and the conjugate base

Since the added OH- is consumed by this reaction the PH will only change slightly

If a strong acid is assed to a buffer solution, the weak base will react with the H+ from the
strong acid to form weak acid HA

The H+ gets absorbed by the A- instead of reacting with water to form H3O+ so the PH
changes only slightly

The phosphate buffer system acts in the cytoplasm of our cells to maintain the intracellular
PH - Consists of a weak acid and a weak base – weak base can neutralise strong acids – and
the weak acid can neutralise strong bases.

The Henderson-Hasselbalch equation describes the derivation of PH as a measure of acidity

(using pKa) in biological and chemical systems.

The equation is also useful for estimating the PG of a buffer solution and finding the
equilibrium PH in acid-base reactions.

PH = pKa + log 10 ([A-]). – Henderson-Hasselbalch equation

( ----)
([HA])