You wish to make a buffer with pH 7.0. You combine 0.060 grams of acetic acid and 14.59 grams of sodium acetate and add water to yield a total volume of 1 liter . What is the pH? Will this be the useful pH 7.0 buffer you seek?

The pH of the buffer is 7.0 and this pH is not useful to pH 7.0

Explanation:

The pH of a buffer is obtained by using H-H equation:

pH = pKa + log [A⁻] / [HA]

Where pH is the pH of the buffer

The pKa of acetic acid is 4.74.

[A⁻] could be taken as moles of sodium acetate (14.59g * (1mol / 82g) = 0.1779 moles

[HA] are the moles of acetic acid (0.060g * (1mol / 60g) = 0.001moles

Replacing:

pH = 4.74 + log [0.1779mol] / [0.001mol]

pH = 6.99 ≈ 7.0

The pH of the buffer is 7.0

But the buffer is not useful to pH = 7.0 because a buffer works between pKa±1 (For acetic acid: 3.74 - 5.74). As pH 7.0 is out of this interval,

this pH is not useful to pH 7.0