Acids, Bases, and Buffers

Acid–base models, strong and weak acids and bases, pH/pOH, Ka/Kb, buffers, Henderson–Hasselbalch, titrations, and indicators.

Intended level

Advanced — after Solutions and Equilibrium.

Prerequisites

• solutions-concentration
• chemical-equilibrium

Ordered lessons

1. Strong and Weak Acids and Bases
2. pH and pOH

Related formulas and calculators

• Henderson–Hasselbalch formula
• Equilibrium constant formula
• pH and pOH calculator
• Weak acid/base calculator
• Buffer pH calculator
• Titration calculator

Only links to real, published tools are shown. Placeholders are not linked.

Common misconceptions

• Strong acids are corrosive and weak acids are safe.
• pH 0 means no acidity.
• Henderson–Hasselbalch works at any concentration.

Related resources

• Constants — sourced physical constants with version stamps.
• Laboratory Safety — PPE, hazards, RAMP.
• Glossary — definitions for key terms in this topic.
• Sources and Data — how sources are versioned and cited.

Curriculum mappings

This topic maps to external frameworks stored in src/content/curriculum/. Never implies official affiliation.

• AP Chemistry 1.1 / IB Chemistry 2.1 (see /curriculum/ap-chem-1-1 and file src/content/curriculum/ap-chem-1-1.md).
• Framework version and source URL recorded per mapping; review date 2026-08-21.

Review and source metadata

• Author: Chemistry Fundamentals Editorial Team (chem-team)
• Reviewer: Dr. Example Reviewer (chemistry reviewer — transparent placeholder, see /editorial-policy)
• Last reviewed: 2026-08-21
• Review due: 2027-08-21
• Sources: NIST Physical Constants (nist-2022, 2022-CODATA).

Printable summary

Printable summaries are available from the printables resource page; print styles preserve equations and tables.

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