Which Concentration Goes On Top

You'll learnhow to turn a buffer's two concentrations straight into its pH, and which way up the fraction has to be.

A buffer's pH does not need an ICE table. One equation turns two concentrations into an answer, and the only thing that reliably goes wrong is which one ends up in the numerator. Twelve short steps; press Next for each one.

12 STEPS · 6 QUICK CHECKS · pH = pK_a + log([A⁻]/[HA]) · v2

base over acid · and the pH that comes out

Before you start

What you're looking at

A buffer's two concentrations, waiting above an empty fraction, and a dial of ratios underneath.

The question

Which of the two belongs on top of the fraction, and what does the choice cost if you get it wrong?

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