Skip to main content
Library homepage
 

Text Color

Text Size

 

Margin Size

 

Font Type

Enable Dyslexic Font
Chemistry LibreTexts

Buffers

( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\)

Required Training

Required PPE

UC Lab Safety Fundamentals

Lab coat, safety glasses/goggles, nitrile gloves

Equipment

Chemicals

2- 250ml graduated cylinders

100ml 1M Acetic Acid

29ml of 17.5 M Acetic Acid, glacial Qs to 500ml

Splash pan.

100ml Buffered Acetic Acid (1M acetic acid/1M Sodium Acetate)

136.1g Sodium Acetate Trihydrate + 57ml of 17.5 M Acetic Acid, glacial Qs to 1000ml

2-5 g Calcium Carbonate

Procedure:

  1. Add 100ml 1M acetic acid to a 250ml Graduate cylinder.
  2. Add 100ml buffered acetic acid to a 250ml Graduate cylinder.
  3. Pour 5 g calcium carbonate into each graduated cylinder.
  4. Observe the difference between the reactions of the acid solution and the buffered acid solution.

Discussion:

How it works:

A buffered solution is one that resist change in its pH when an acid or base is added to it. Buffers typically contain a weak acid and a salt of the weak acid, or a weak base and salt of the weak base.

This demo shows that a solution containing both acetic acid and sodium acetate resist changes to pH when the calcium carbonate is added. First a small amount of carbonate is added to an acid, the pH changes dramatically and the reaction can be observed through the formation of calcium acetate and carbon dioxide.

CH3COOH+CaCO3Ca(CH3COO)2+CO2+H2O

When the same amount of acid is added to the buffer solutions the pH does not change dramatically thus there is an absence of the visual reaction.

Hazards:

Wear gloves and splash goggles. Caution: Acetic acid is a weak acid.

SOP

N/A

Disposal (by Storeroom)

Once neutralized the solutions may be rinsed down the drain with copious amounts of water.

Acknoledgement and adapted from:

B. Z. Shakhashiri Chemical Demonstrations; A Handbook for Teachers of Chemistry Vol.3, Wisconsin, 1989, Vol.3, p.173-185


Buffers is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by LibreTexts.

Support Center

How can we help?