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Chapter 15: Problem 165

Does pure liquid water have any buffering ability? Explain.

Short Answer

Expert verified
Pure liquid water does not have any buffering ability because it lacks the necessary components, such as a weak acid and its conjugate base or a weak base and its conjugate acid, to resist pH changes upon the addition of small amounts of acids or bases. In pure water, the autoionization reaction \(2H_2O \leftrightarrow H_3O^+ + OH^-\) does not provide the buffering action required to maintain a constant pH value when an acidic or basic substance is added.

Step by step solution

01

Understand Buffering Ability

A buffer solution is a solution that can maintain a relatively constant pH value when small amounts of acid or base are added. This is typically achieved by having a weak acid and its conjugate base (or a weak base and its conjugate acid) in equilibrium, which helps in resisting the pH change upon addition of a small amount of acidic or basic substances.
02

Examine Pure Liquid Water

Pure liquid water can be described by the following autoionization reaction: \[2H_2O \leftrightarrow H_3O^+ + OH^-\] Even though water can act as both an acid (donating a proton) and a base (accepting a proton), there are no other species in the solution (like conjugate acids/bases) to maintain the buffering action in case of an addition of an acidic or basic substance.
03

Analyzing Buffering Ability of Pure Liquid Water

In order to determine if pure water has buffering ability, consider a scenario where we add a small amount of acid or base to the water. When an acid or base is added, the concentration of H3O+ or OH- will change significantly, leading to a change in the pH value of the solution. Since pure liquid water does not have other species (like conjugate acids/bases) to resist the pH change, it will not be able to maintain a constant pH value.
04

Conclusion

Pure liquid water does not have any buffering ability, as it does not possess the necessary components (like a weak acid and its conjugate base, or a weak base and its conjugate acid) to resist pH changes upon the addition of small amounts of acids or bases.

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Most popular questions from this chapter

True or false? As a solution's acidity increases, its pH decreases.

Write the mathematical expression that allows you to solve for the \(\mathrm{OH}^{-}\) concentration in water when you know only the \(\mathrm{H}_{3} \mathrm{O}^{+}\) concentration.

Does a mixture of carbonic acid, \(\mathrm{H}_{2} \mathrm{CO}_{3}\), a weak acid, and sodium bicarbonate, \(\mathrm{NaHCO}_{3}\), in water constitute a buffer? If no, explain why. If yes, explain why and use chemical equations to show what happens when either \(\mathrm{OH}\) or \(\mathrm{H}_{3} \mathrm{O}^{+}\) is added to the solution.

If you dissolve \(0.250 \mathrm{~g}\) of \(\mathrm{Ba}(\mathrm{OH})_{2}\) in \(3.00 \mathrm{~L}\) of water, what is the \(\mathrm{pH}\) of the solution?

Pyridine, \(\mathrm{C}_{5} \mathrm{H}_{5} \mathrm{~N}\), is a weak base. (a) Write the chemical equation for the reaction between pyridine and water. (b) List all species present in an aqueous solution of pyridine in order of concentration, highest to lowest. (c) In a 0.100 M pyridine solution, \(3.2 \%\) of the pyridine has reacted with water to form products. Calculate the concentration of all species present (except water) in \(1 \mathrm{~L}\) of a \(0.100\) M pyridine solution. (d) What is the pH of this solution?
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