How Do Buffer Solutions Work?
Acidity and Alkalinity A buffer solution is an aqueous solution that will change very little if a small amount of acid or base is added to it. Buffer solutions are used to keep pH nearly constant in a wide variety of chemical applications. The way a buffer solution works is based on the concept of pH. And pH refers to an aspect of chemistry concerning the hydrogen ion concentration, a factor that represents the degree of acidity of a substance. The pH scale—a measure of acidity—is assigned numbers ranging from 1 to 14. A pH of 1 indicates an extremely strong acid, a pH of 7 is considered neutral and a pH of 14 is the opposite of acidic—extremely basic or alkaline. Logarithmic Scale A critical feature of the pH scale is that it is logarithmic. The numbers, from 14 to 1, may suggest changes in acid levels in increments of 1 unit, but this is misleading. The difference is actually by powers of 10. For example, a pH of 6 is 10 times more acidic than a pH of 5. And a pH of 4 is 100 ti
