Experiment No.

1
pH and Buffers
I. Objectives
1. To illustrate the buffering properties of phosphates and acetates
2. To provide the students a sense of how buffers work

II. Introduction

The term pH was introduced in 1909 by Sorensen, who defined pH as negative

log of hydrogen ion concentration. In first year chemistry, one has learned to
calculate the pH of solutions by (a) calculating hydrogen ion concentration, (b)
calculating the base 10 log of hydrogen ion, and (c) pH is the negative of the value
found in base 10 log. This information will be adequate for most biochemical
purposes of this biochemistry experiment.

According to Bronsted-Lowry definition, acids are proton donor and bases are
proton acceptor. A distinction was made between strong acids, which completely
dissociate in solution, and weak acids, which does not completely dissociate solution.
A similar distinction was likewise made between strong and weak bases. Many
biochemical are weak acids. It is then important to know how to calculate the ph of
acidic and basic solutions.

III. Materials

A. Equipment
(4) 50 mL Beaker
(2) 10 mL Volumetric pipette
(1) 10 mL graduated cylinder
(2) 200 mL Beaker
pH meter

B. Reagents
1M KH PO
1M CH COOH
1M HCl
1M K HPO
1M CH COONa