Buffer Questions----Study Guide for Quiz
1. What is a buffer?
2. Why are buffers important in the human body?
3. What components are necessary for a buffer?
4. What should the pH of blood range between?
5. How did the buffer lab show the ability of buffers to do their jobs? Compare the experimental group and use pH
levels and compare the control group. Experimental Group: buffered solution, Control group: unbuffered
solution – just water.
6. The equation for the carbonic acid ----bicarbonate buffer system found in the blood.
7. If there is an increase in H+ ions (decrease in pH)- what happens to this equation- which direction should it move
and what should happen to the pH?
8.
If there is a decrease in H+ ions (increase in pH), what happens to the equation- which directions should the
equation move and what should happen to the pH?
9. What two systems are involved in the carbonic acid- bicarbonate buffer system?
10. Where does the CO2 come from? How is some of the CO2 used to create carbonic acid?
11. Where does the bicarbonate come from?
12. What are the names of the two conditions because of improper working of the buffer system, due to lung or
kidney damage?