Module 8

Module 8—Acid-Base Equilibrium

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In Lesson 6 you labelled certain regions of a pH curve “buffering regions.” What happens in a buffering region compared to other regions in a pH curve? The flattened region of a pH curve indicates that little change in pH occurs despite the addition of titrant. Why so little change?

Read pages 763–765 in the textbook to learn what a buffer is and how this differs from the terms buffering and buffer capacity, which are also introduced in this section. You may wish to make a chart explaining the similarities and differences between the terms buffer, buffering, and buffer capacity and to save your chart in your course folder for future reference.

Try This

How can your knowledge of equilibrium be used to understand the composition of a chemical buffer?

Go to the website for your textbook. You will need your username and password, available from your teacher, to access the website. Navigate to Unit 8, Chapter 16, Section 16.4, Web Activities. Open the simulation “Preparation of Buffer Solutions.”

Complete the questions in the simulation to identify what kinds of chemical components can be used to form a buffer.

Self-Check

SC 1. Complete “Practice” question 18 on page 766 in the textbook.