The addition of carbon dioxide to a water-based solution can cause acidification of that solution. In the blood and in the ocean, this is mitigated through a complex buffer system. In this lab, students compare the addition of carbon dioxide to a buffered solution and a non‐buffered solution. The CO2 is added in two different ways so that students can study the effects of CO2 on pH as well as the effects of the buffer. The first way CO2 is added is through breathing from the top and the second is by bubbling the CO2 into the solution with a straw. Students will also learn that a buffer system is actually a complex change in equilibrium.

Items included in this lab are listed below.

Universal indicator, Universal indicator color chart, Straws, Sodium Bicarbonate.