Buffers, the Acid Rain Slayer: Crash Course Chemistry #31

In this episode, Hank talks about how nutty our world is via Buffers! He defines buffers and their compositions and talks about carbonate buffering systems in nature, acid rain, pH of buffers, and titration. Plus, a really cool experiment using indicators to showcase just how awesome buffers are.

Pssst... we made flashcards to help you review the content in this episode! Find them on the free Crash Course App!

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Table of Contents
Nature is Nutty 0:00
Carbonate Buffering and Acid Rain 0:35
Definition of Buffers 1:47
Composition of Buffers 2:26
pH of Buffers 3:33
Titration 7:43
Carbonate Buffering in Nature 7:12

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[crashcourse]

Pssst... we made flashcards to help you review the content in this episode! Find them on the free Crash Course App! 

[lili]

Hank, your excitation from watching the color of the solution change inspires me to be more passionate in my studies. SCIENCE.

[CWAladyatheart]

Hank, your nerdiness and pretty flawless understanding of everything as demonstrated in this video and in crash course chem in general is so incredibly appreciated.

[maychew]

All my life I did not know you can titrate by turning the knob in a full circle to produce smaller volumes.

[whitewolf]

To everyone who keeps complaining about the speed of the video... This is a video.. Which means you have a pause and rewind button.

[blakehoward]

Watch from 4:42 to 4:55 in slow motion (.5 speed). It's hilarious. You will not regret it.

[ninjabreadgirl]

A MAGNETIC STIRRER?! That is so exciting!! And here I am primitively shaking my beaker around like a Neanderthal... bah. xD I get just as excited as you when I do titrations, hahaha, and everyone thinks I'm weird but I JUST LOVE I LOVE YOU HANK! THANKS FOR BEING AWESOME! 

[morganburkhardt]

This 12 minute video just taught me what my professors failed to teach me in 4 class periods, and quite possibly saved my exam grade.

[sarah]

Getting such a precise titration is really an art form. It took me many hours in the lab to get that good, so I totally understood Hank's excitement here

[brikatmarlizhku]

THANK YOU Hank and everyone behind Crash Course for making everything easier to understand!!! My chemistry teacher does not know how to teach but still gives us killer assessments, so if we want to do well we basically have to commit hours and hours to self study (not to mention panic with all my fellow classmates). This has helped so much!!!
Sincerely,
A stressed and panicky teen

[henryelicker]

Something about this video makes it very cathartic. It's between Hank's unbridled respect for the environment and chemistry and the lack of cuts during the great titration. This was a good one.

[Perfect.Spirited.]

Maximum nerdiness in this episode, I love it.

[dansekazoo]

These videos are wonderful. Hank's personality as well as the excellent quality of the graphics and overall presentation really make learning enjoyable. Sometimes things move a bit too fast and I have to go back and replay sections - but this is exactly what makes these videos great. No sitting through a boring 40 minute video that only gives you 10 minutes of information.

[rocc]

i lost it after that R.I.C.E. my brain hurts from all those terms I haven't learned yet and equation like problems

[HT-rqpi]

7:31 the calcium ion should have a charge of 2+, not 1+. Not trying to nitpick, but just wanted to point that out. Thanks for the video!

[matthewmitchell]

Little note at 6:48 where Hank comments about not being justified to bringing out the decimal place to the 4th digit due to significant figures. Mathematically speaking, when taking the log of [H+], the digit before the decimal place is not counted among the significant figures of the final answer. Only the decimal places do. Because the numbers beforehand contain 3 significant figures, pH of 4.746 is a valid answer!

[JBoyle-jrwb]

Man it was a satisfying ordeal getting to the end point. What a beautiful faint red.

[zezo]

"this is the stuff I get excited about" Hahaha, I laughed out loud by that part.

[zoereed]

I love these crash course videos, they inspire me to give 100% in my studies. Please, never stop making these videos

[duckiesicons]

I got as excited as Hank watching that perfect titration. Maybe I'm a nerd, maybe its just finals-week hysteria.