Hullo, and preemptively thank you for any assistance
So the question is:
4) What is the pH of each of the following buffer mixtures? (Phosphate pKa’s = 2.14, 6.86, 12.4)
A) 0.7 M acetic acid plus 0.1 M sodium acetate.
B) 0.4 M H3PO4 plus 0.8 M KH2PO4
Now since this is the pH of a buffer mix, I'm immediately thinking Henderson-Hasslebalch. This seemed pretty straightforward with part A
pH = pKa + log([A-]/[HA])
pKa for acetic acid = 4.76
Since the pKa is over 2.5 I assume that it's solely responsible for concentrations of acid and conjugate base
therefore [A-] = 0.1, [HA] = 0.6, and pH = 4.76 + log(0.1/0.6) = 3.98
Please note if that's totally off lemme know please
BUT THEN we get to part B
Why would I get three pKas?
Are there multiple removals of hydrogens? Am I being given TMI as a red herring? Any help would be appreciated!