Answer to Question #306663 in Physical Chemistry for Yyyyy

Question

In a Laboratory, you have the following chemicals available:

1.0 M NaOH, 1.00 M HCl, 1.00 M H3PO4, NaH2PO4 (s), Na2HPO4 (s), and Na3PO4 (s).

Describe TWO ways of making 1000 mL of a buffer of pH = 12 (Use only the above

chemicals, plus distilled water.)

[Given: H3PO4 - Ka1 = 6.9 x 10-3; NaH2PO4 - Ka2 = 6.2 x 10-8 ; Na2HPO4 - Ka3 = 4.8 x 10-13]

Answer 1

NaH2PO4 is much more acidic than Na2HPO4, hence NaH2PO4 acts as an acid while Na2HPO4 acts a salt of NaH2PO4 with a strong base NaOH. Hence mixture is having a weak acid NaH2PO4 and its salt with a strong base Na2HPO4 and that's why mixture acts as an acidic Buffer.