Labs / Chemistry
Buffer Lab
Two beakers, one buffer and one of plain water, sit side by side. Each drop of strong acid or base falls into both at once — watch the water swing wildly while the buffer barely flinches. The readouts track pH, the conjugate ratio [A−]/[HA], and how much buffering capacity is left.
buffer —[A⁻]/[HA] —capacity —water —
What to try
- After one acid drop, why does the water plunge toward pH 3 while the buffer hardly moves at all?
- Keep adding acid. What happens to the buffer the moment its capacity readout reaches 0 %?
- When the conjugate ratio [A−]/[HA] is exactly 1 : 1, how does the buffer's pH compare to its pKa?
- Switch from Acetate to Ammonium. Why does the buffer now hold a completely different pH with the same 50/50 mix?
- Does a bigger drop size break the buffer faster, or does it only change how many drops it takes?