Chemistry › Section N · Acid-base equilibria › Topic N.6
Buffers
A few drops of strong acid can shift the pH of pure water by several units, yet your blood's pH changes far less when exercising muscles release acids into it. Buffers are the reason: mixtures of a weak acid and its conjugate base that soak up added acid or base.
In this topic
- Why pH needs protecting
- What a buffer contains
- How a buffer works
- The Henderson-Hasselbalch equation
- When the equation can be trusted
- Worked example: the pH of an acetate buffer
- Worked example: adding strong base
- Buffer capacity
- Choosing a buffer for a target pH
- The buffer in your blood
- Common mistakes to avoid
- Key takeaways
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