21.

2 Buffer solutions in the body

OCR Chemistry A Teacher notes

Biological buffers
Specification references
 5.1.3
 HSW9

Introduction
In this activity the student will use their knowledge of writing and balancing an ionic equation,
and then write expressions for Ka, pKa, and then determine the optimum pH for a given
buffer for the reaction. This is applied to the importance of maintaining the pH of blood.

The students will find 20.3 The acid dissociation constant Ka and 21.2 Buffer solutions in the
body useful from the Student book.

Learning outcomes
After completing the worksheet students should be able to:
 understand the importance of maintaining the pH of blood
 be able to write expressions for Ka, pKa, and determine the optimum
pH for a given buffer
 be able to explain how the hydrogencarbonate buffer can maintain
the pH of blood following exercise.

Teacher notes
It may be necessary to cover carbonic acid/hydrogencarbonate reactions in order to make
these questions accessible to students.

You could show students slides of blood which has acidosis or alkalosis. These can be
found on the Internet using a search engine and the key terms. You could then ask students
to research some of the causes of the change of pH in the blood, such as decrease in
ventilation rate (causing respiratory acidosis) or increase in ventilation rate (causing
respiratory alkalosis).

You may wish to ask students to complete questions 2 to 4 for the phosphate buffer.
You could extend students by asking them to find out about other biological buffers that
maintain the pH in mammals at 7.4. Examples include cerebrospinal fluid and tissue fluid.
Interestingly, urine has a pH slightly greater than blood, and can itself be used as a buffer in
chemical reactions! Chemists make buffer solutions for medical treatment such as those
found in kidney dialysis and irrigation in surgical procedures.

Answers
1 A solution which can maintain the pH when small amounts of acid or base are added, or
on dilution. (1 mark)

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This resource sheet may have been changed from the original 1
 21.2 Buffer solutions in the body
OCR Chemistry A Teacher notes

2 a H2CO3 (aq) ⇌ HCO3− (aq) + H+ (aq) (2 marks)

b Homogeneous, as all species are in the same phase. (2 marks)

c Acidic, as the optimum pH is 6.36 (its pKa) and this is less than 7. (2 marks)

HCO3   H 
3 a Ka  (2 marks)
H CO 
2 3

HCO3   H 
b pK a  log10 K a   log10 (2 marks)
H CO 
2 3

c Optimum pH = 6.3 (1 mark)

4 On exercising, lactic acid is produced. This will dissociate to produce additional H+(aq)
ions in the blood. The buffer’s conjugate base, HCO3−, reacts with the H+ produced so
maintaining the pH. (4 marks)

© Oxford University Press 2016 www.oxfordsecondary.co.uk/acknowledgements

This resource sheet may have been changed from the original 2