a) Use the following equation to explain how the aqueous hydrogen carbonate ion acts as a buffer.
HCO3
–
(aq) + H2O (l) H3O
+
(aq) + CO3
2– (aq)
(b) A buffer solution is made by adding 6.56 g of sodium ethanoate, CH3COONa, to 1 dm3
of 0.02 M ethanoic acid,
CH3COOH.
i. Calculate the concentration of the sodium ethanoate solution in mol dm-3
.
ii. Ka for ethanoic acid is equal to 1.8 x 10-5 mol dm-3
.
Write the expression for Ka and use it to calculate the pH of the buffer solution.
State any assumptions made in the calculation.