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For example, acetic acid is a weak acid which has a = 1.75 x 10 −5. Its conjugate base is the acetate ion with K b = 10 −14 /K a = 5.7 x 10 −10 (from the relationship K a × K b = 10 −14), which certainly does not correspond to a strong base. The conjugate of a weak acid is often a weak base and vice versa.
In cell biology, ion trapping is the build-up of a higher concentration of a chemical across a cell membrane due to the pKa value of the chemical and difference of pH across the cell membrane. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] This results in basic chemicals accumulating in acidic bodily fluids such as the cytosol , and acidic chemicals accumulating in basic fluids.
In chemistry and biochemistry, the Henderson–Hasselbalch equation = + ([] []) relates the pH of a chemical solution of a weak acid to the numerical value of the acid dissociation constant, K a, of acid and the ratio of the concentrations, [] [] of the acid and its conjugate base in an equilibrium.
In a buffer, a weak acid and its conjugate base (in the form of a salt), or a weak base and its conjugate acid, are used in order to limit the pH change during a titration process. Buffers have both organic and non-organic chemical applications. For example, besides buffers being used in lab processes, human blood acts as a buffer to maintain pH.
In water, measurable pK a values range from about −2 for a strong acid to about 12 for a very weak acid (or strong base). A buffer solution of a desired pH can be prepared as a mixture of a weak acid and its conjugate base. In practice, the mixture can be created by dissolving the acid in water, and adding the requisite amount of strong acid ...
Weak acids are excreted when the tubular fluid becomes too alkaline and this reduces passive reabsorption. The opposite occurs with weak bases. Poisoning treatments use this effect to increase elimination, by alkalizing the urine causing forced diuresis which promotes excretion of a weak acid, rather than it getting reabsorbed.
Buffers typically consist of a pair of compounds in solution, one of which is a weak acid and the other a weak base. [13] The most abundant buffer in the ECF consists of a solution of carbonic acid (H 2 CO 3), and the bicarbonate (HCO − 3) salt of, usually, sodium (Na +). [5] Thus, when there is an excess of OH −
A weak base is a base that, upon dissolution in water, does not dissociate completely, so that the resulting aqueous solution contains only a small proportion of hydroxide ions and the concerned basic radical, and a large proportion of undissociated molecules of the base.