A chemist needs to prepare a buffer using the carbonate system (information in the table in the previous quetion) with a final pH of 10. Which components should they mix in water to product this buffer?
Question options:
H2CO3
HCO3-
CO32-
You answer this the same as the previous question; however, I don't get the options. It takes TWO of them to make a buffer, not one of them (although HCO3^- alone gives a pH of about 8.3
h2co3
To prepare a buffer with a final pH of 10 using the carbonate system, the chemist needs to mix the components in the proper ratio. The carbonate system consists of three components: H2CO3 (carbonic acid), HCO3- (bicarbonate ion), and CO32- (carbonate ion).
To determine which components should be mixed, we need to consider the equilibrium reactions involved in the carbonate system. The main equilibrium reactions are:
1. H2CO3 ⇌ H+ + HCO3-
2. HCO3- ⇌ H+ + CO32-
At a pH of 10, we have an excess of hydroxide ions (OH-) in the solution. To maintain this pH using the carbonate system, we need to combine the bicarbonate ion (HCO3-) and carbonate ion (CO32-) to consume the excess hydroxide ions.
In this case, the components that should be mixed in water to produce a buffer with a final pH of 10 are HCO3- and CO32-. By combining these two components, they can react with the hydroxide ions to maintain the desired pH level.
Therefore, the correct components to mix in water to produce the buffer are HCO3- and CO32-.