Question

which solution will be a better buffer at ph 4.74 .05 acetic acid + .5 m sodium acetate .1m acetic acid +.1m sodium acetate



how would i go about doing this? do i use ph = pka+log base/acid?

Answer 1

the acid and salt are identical in both cases. without doing the calculations out, i'd guess that both of them get you a pH of 4.74. The "better" buffer is the buffer with the largest capacity to absorb H+ or OH- ions, so generally the buffer with the higher concentration of components is "better" than one with a lower concentration