Acid-Base Reactions and Buffers
When an acid and base react, they neutralize, and the resulting pH depends on what remains. A buffer — a weak acid and its conjugate base together — resists pH change: added acid is absorbed by the conjugate base, and added base by the weak acid.
The trap mispredicts the pH after neutralization — for instance, assuming the mixture is neutral without checking whether excess acid or base (or a buffer) remains. Track the moles of each species after the reaction to find the pH.
The work
3 ways in · any order
Lesson
Reactions and Buffers
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Neutralization's pH depends on what remains, and a buffer (weak acid + conjugate base) resists pH change. The lesson tracks the leftover species, then closes with a ten-scenario check.
Diagnostic
10-item topic check
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Ten items spanning the Topic 8.4 misconception: the pH after a neutralization mispredicted by not tracking the excess or buffer species that remain.
Targeted Practice
Drill a single misconception
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Pick one of the failure modes you missed and drill it on its own. The round is adaptive: two correct in a row clears the misconception and moves you to the next.