Question

Calculate the pH of a buffer which contains 0.0500 M pyruvic acid and 0.0450 M sodium pyruvate. (The Ka of pyruvic acid is 4.1 × 10–3)

Answer 1

Use the Henderson-Hasselbalch equation. You will need to convert Ka to pKa. pyruvic is the acid, of course, and the sodium salt is the base.

Answer 2

Answer is 2.72