A student prepared 250 mL of a buffer solution containing an equal number of moles of
HClO and NaClO. Using a pH meter, the student measured the pH of the buffer solution
to be 7.52. To this solution, another student added 5 drops of 0.10 M HCl and
remeasured the pH of the solution. The process was repeated several times and the data was recorded in the table below.
Total HCl
added(drops) pH
0 7.52
5 7.52
10 7.52
20 7.52
30 7.52
40 7.52
50 7.51
Write a balanced net ionic equation for the reaction that occurs between HCl and the
species in the buffer solution that reacts with the HCl. Explain, based on this reaction,
why the pH did not significantly change with the addition of HCl(aq).