Question

On the basis of the information above, a buffer with a pH = 9 can best be made by using

Answer 1

Answer:

D H2PO4– + HPO42–

Explanation:

The acid dissociation constant for $\mathbf{H_3PO_4 , H_2PO^{-}_4 , HPO_4^{2-}}$ are $\mathbf{7\times 10^{-3}, \ \ 8\times 10^{-8} ,\ \ 5\times 10^{-13}}$ respectively.

$\mathbf{pka (H_3PO_4) = -log (7\times 10^{-3} )=2.2}$

$\mathbf{pka (H_2PO_4^-) = -log (8\times 10^{-8} )=7.1}$

$\mathbf{pka (HPO_4^{2-}) = -log (5\times 10^{-13} )=12.3}$

The reason while option D is the best answer is that, the value of pKa for both

$\mathbf{H_2PO^{-}_4 ,\ \& \ HPO_4^{2-}}$ lies on either side of the desired pH of the buffer. This implies that one is slightly over and the other is slightly under.

Using Henderson-Hasselbach equation:

$\mathbf{pH = pKa + log \Big( \dfrac{HPO_4^{2-}}{H_2PO_4^-} \Big)}$