This a back-titration problem, the equation is (mass/molar mass * na)+ (Ma * Va* na) = (Mb * Vb* nb. do the na and nb variables refer to the moles of the acid and base, or the moles of H and OH?

acid and base

acid and base

In this back-titration problem, the variables "na" and "nb" refer to the moles of the acid and the base, respectively.

In the given equation: (mass/molar mass * na) + (Ma * Va * na) = (Mb * Vb * nb), "na" represents the moles of the acid, which is multiplied by the molar mass of the acid (mass/molar mass * na) to convert it into mass.

On the other hand, "nb" refers to the moles of the base, which is what we are trying to determine in this equation. The concentration (Mb) and volume (Vb) of the base are multiplied by "nb" to calculate the moles of the base.

So, in summary, "na" and "nb" represent the moles of the acid and the base, respectively, in the back-titration equation.