Final answer:
The pH of a 0.25 M Tris buffer solution in the acid form with a pKa of 8.1 is 8.1, making option (b) the correct answer.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question at hand involves calculating the pH of a 0.25 M Tris buffer solution in its acid form. Tris (tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane) is often used in biochemistry and molecular biology as a component of buffer solutions. The pH of this buffer can be predicted using the Henderson-Hasselbalch equation:
pH = pKa + log([base]/[acid])
If we have Tris in its acid form, this means that the concentration of the conjugate base is negligible. Therefore, we can simplify the equation to:
pH = pKa
Given that the pKa of Tris is 8.1, we can deduce that the pH of the solution will also be 8.1 under these conditions. Hence, the correct option is:
b) pH 8.1