Buffer solutions have constant acidity and alkalinity because
- these give unionised acid or base on reaction with added acid or alkali
- acids and alkalies in these solutions are shielded from attack by other ions
- they have large excess of H+ or OH- ions
- they have fixed value of pH
Answer
(1) these give unionised acid or base on reaction with added acid or alkali
Solution
In an acidic buffer (CH3COOH+CH3COONa):
added acid: CH3COO-+H+ CH3COOH (unionised acid)
added alkali: CH3COOH+OH- CH3COO-+H2O
Similarly in a basic buffer (NH4OH+NH4Cl), added alkali gives unionised NH4OH: NH4++OH- NH4OH.
The added H+ / OH- is removed as a weakly ionised acid or base, so the pH stays almost constant.
Answer: (1)