Use the following steps to determine how to make 600 mL of a 0.1M acetate buffer, pH 5.0, using 0.1M acetic acid and 0.1M sodium acetate. Using the desired pH(5.0) and pKa of acetic acid, use the Henderson-Hasselbalch equation to determine a ratio of [base]/[acid] required for this buffer. Your answer should look something like [base]/[acid] = 2.3 Given the example above, we can set [acid] = x and [base] = 2.3x. Remember that the concentration of acid and base should equal the desired molarity, which 0.1. Based on this, a second equation can be obtained given the example above, the equation would be x + 2.3x = 0.1. Use this to solve for x, which represents the concentration of acid ([acid]), and also for [base]. Use M_1V_1 = M_2V_2 to solve for the volume of 0.1M acetic acid and 0.1M sodium acetate required to create the buffer. M_1 = 0.1M of acetic acid or 0.1M sodium acetate (stock solution) V_1 = what to solve for M_2 = the value for [acid] or [base] solved in 4b V_2 = the desired buffer volume (600mL)
