Buffer Solution

Our blood maintains a nearly constant pH despite countless cellular acid-base reactions, because of buffer action. A buffer is a solution containing a mixture of a weak acid and its conjugate base, or a weak base and its conjugate acid, that resists drastic pH changes when small amounts of acid or base are added -- this resistance is the buffer's characteristic ability. The carbonic-acid/bicarbonate buffer ($H_2CO_3$ / $HCO_3^-$) present in blood is a real-life example. There are two types: an acidic buffer solution, containing a weak acid and its salt (e.g. acetic acid + sodiu …