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butanoic acid PKa= 4.82 A buffer solution is prepared by mixing 82.3 ml of 0.032

ID: 1066416 • Letter: B

Question

butanoic acid PKa=4.82

A buffer solution is prepared by mixing 82.3 ml of 0.0329 M butanoic add with 21.4 mL of 0.661 M sodium butanoate. A table of pKa values can be found here. Calculate the pH (to two decimal places) of this solution. Assume the 5% approximation is valid and that the volumes are additive. Calculate the pH (to two decimal places) of the buffer solution after the addition of 13.9 mL of a 0.0525 M solution of hydrochloric acid to the existing buffer solution. Assume the 5% approximation is valid and that the volumes are additive.

Explanation / Answer

1) [butanoic acid] = molarity x volume in Litres = 0.0329 M x 0.0823 L = 0.0027 mol

[sodium butanoate] = molarity x volume in Litres = 0.661 M x 0.0214 L = 0.014 mol

pKa of butanoic acid = 4.82

According to Henderson-Hasselbalch equation,

pH = pKa + log [sodium butanoate]]/ [butanoic acid ]

= 4.82 + log ( 0.0414 mol/ 0.0027 mol)

= 6.00

pH = 6.00

2) pH after addition of HCl

[HCl] = molarity x volume in Litres = 0.0525 M x 0.0214 L = 0.0139 mol

sodium butanoate + HCl ------------> butanoic acid + NaCl

0.014 mol 0.0139 mol 0

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

0.014 -0.0139 0 0.0139 mol

= 0.0001 mol

Hence,

[sodium butanoate] = 0.0001 mol

[butanoic acid] = 0.027 mol + 0.0139 mol = 0.0409 mol

Then,

pH = pKa + log [sodium butanoate]]/ [butanoic acid ]

= 4.82 + log ( 0.0001 mol/ 0.0409 mol)

= 2.2

Therefore,

pH after addition of HCl = 2.2