A buffer solution is used to keep the pH of the solution within a relatively narrow range. It must resist change in pH upon addition of acids or bases. A weak acid is used to lower the pH in response to addition of base or removal of acid, and its conjugate base is used to raise the pH in response to addition of acid or removal of base.

To answer this question we need to look at the reaction below:

An increase in the pH will result in a decrease in the concentration of hydrogen ions (). Using Le Chatelier’s principle we can find out which answer choices will decrease .

Removing carbonic acid will decrease the concentration of . To maintain equilibrium, the reaction will shift to the left and make more reactants from products; therefore, there will be a decrease in the  and an increase in pH.

Recall that salts like sodium bicarbonate, or , will dissociate in water and form ions. Sodium bicarbonate will form sodium () and bicarbonate () ions. This side reaction will result in an increase in the bicarbonate ion concentration. Le Chatelier’s principle will shift the equilibrium of the given reaction to the left and, therefore, decrease the . Adding sodium bicarbonate will increase the pH.

To answer this question we need to look at the reaction below:

An increase in the pH will result in a decrease in the concentration of hydrogen ions (). Using Le Chatelier’s principle we can find out which answer choices will decrease .

Removing carbonic acid will decrease the concentration of . To maintain equilibrium, the reaction will shift to the left and make more reactants from products; therefore, there will be a decrease in the  and an increase in pH.

Recall that salts like sodium bicarbonate, or , will dissociate in water and form ions. Sodium bicarbonate will form sodium () and bicarbonate () ions. This side reaction will result in an increase in the bicarbonate ion concentration. Le Chatelier’s principle will shift the equilibrium of the given reaction to the left and, therefore, decrease the . Adding sodium bicarbonate will increase the pH.

Since sodium hydroxide is a strong base, it will dissociate completely in water. This means that the concentration of the base will be equal to the concentration of hydroxide ions after the reaction runs to completion.

We can find the concentration of hydroxide ions via stoichiometry. One hydroxide ion is created from each molecule of sodium hydroxide that dissociates.

Since we have the concentration of hydroxide ions, we can solve for the pOH of the solution.

The question asks us to find the pH of the solution, so we will need to convert pOH to pH. To do so, we simply subtract the pOH from 14. 

The pH of the solution is 12.3. Because sodium hydroxide is a strong base, it makes sense that the pH is above 7.

pH and pOH are the log concentrations of protons and hydroxide ions, respectively.

The sum of pH and pOH is always 14. This is because the product of proton concentration and hydroxide concentration must always equal the equilibrium constant for the ionization of water, which is equal to .

In this question, we know that the pOH is equal to 2.13, allowing us to solve for the pH.

Hydrochloric acid is a strong monoprotic acid, meaning that it will dissociate completely in solution and generate one proton from each acid molecule. This means that a 0.05M solution of hydrochloric acid will result in a 0.05M concentration of protons.

The equation for pH is as follows:

Hydrofluoric acid is a weak acid, meaning that we will need to use an ICE table in order to find the pH of the solution.

The balanced reaction for hydrofluoric acid in water is:

I: Before the reaction proceeds, we have 0.04M of hydrofluoric acid. Since water is a liquid, its concentration is irrelevant for the equilibrium expression. There are also no products yet made.

C: Once the reaction reaches equilibrium, both the hydronium and fluoride concentrations will have increased by an unknown concentration. We will call this increase . Conversely, the concentration of hydrofluoric acid concentration will have decreased by the same amount, in this case .

E: Using the equilibrium expression and making it equal to the acid dissociation constant, we can solve for .

Note: Since the value for  is going to be very small compared to the initial acid concentration, we can disregard the  in the denominator:

Keep in mind that  is equal to the concentration of hydronium ions now in the solution.

Use this value in the equation for pH:

Ammonia is a weak base, meaning that we will require an ICE table in order to determine the pH of the solution.

Let's look at the dissociation of ammonia:

I: Before the reaction proceeds, ammonia has a concentration of 0.02M. No product has yet been made.

C: When the reaction is at equilibrium, the products will increase by a concentration of . Conversely, ammonia's concentration will decrease by the same amount, .

E: By setting the equilibrium expression equal to the base dissociation constant, we can solve for the value of .

Note: because the value for  will be so much less than the initial base concentration, we can omit it from the denominator:

Keep in mind that  is equal to the concentration of hydroxide ions now in the solution.

Use this value in the equation for pOH:

Remember that the sum of pH and pOH is always 14. To find the pH, subtract the pOH from 14.

We can find the pOH by first finding the pH.

Use the given hydrogen ion concentration to find the pH:

We know that pH and pOH will always sum to equal 14, allowing us to find the pOH.

Each whole number on the pH scale represents a factor of ten difference in concentration of hydrogen ions. We con verify this by finding the hydrogen ion concentrations for the two given pH values.

If we take the ratio of these values, we can see that there is a difference of 1000-times more protons in the solution with a pH of 3.