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Aqueous carbon dioxide reacts with water to form carbonic acid which is very unstable and will dissociate rapidly into hydronium and bicarbonate. Therefore, in seawater, dissolved inorganic carbon is commonly referred to as the collection of bicarbonate, carbonate ions, and dissolved carbon dioxide (CO 2, H 2 CO 3, HCO − 3, CO 2− 3).
3 (i.e. the first acid dissociation constant for carbonic acid), K 2 is the equilibrium constant for the reaction HCO − 3 ⇌ H + + CO 2− 3 (i.e. the second acid dissociation constant for carbonic acid), and DIC is the (unchanging) total concentration of dissolved inorganic carbon in the system, i.e. [CO 2] + [HCO − 3] + [CO 2− 3].
In inorganic chemistry, bicarbonate (IUPAC-recommended nomenclature: hydrogencarbonate [2]) is an intermediate form in the deprotonation of carbonic acid. It is a polyatomic anion with the chemical formula H C O − 3. Bicarbonate serves a crucial biochemical role in the physiological pH buffering system. [3]
In chemistry, the term "carbonic acid" strictly refers to the chemical compound with the formula H 2 CO 3. Some biochemistry literature effaces the distinction between carbonic acid and carbon dioxide dissolved in extracellular fluid. In physiology, carbon dioxide excreted by the lungs may be called volatile acid or respiratory acid.
The inorganic carbon species include carbon dioxide, carbonic acid, bicarbonate anion, and carbonate. [5] It is customary to express carbon dioxide and carbonic acid simultaneously as CO 2 *. C T is a key parameter when making measurements related to the pH of natural aqueous systems, [6] and carbon dioxide flux estimates.
Recall that the relationship represented in a Davenport diagram is a relationship between three variables: P CO 2, bicarbonate concentration and pH.Thus, Fig. 7 can be thought of as a topographical map—that is, a two-dimensional representation of a three-dimensional surface—where each isopleth indicates a different partial pressure or “altitude.”
Most of the carbonic acid then dissociates to bicarbonate and hydrogen ions. The bicarbonate buffer system is an acid-base homeostatic mechanism involving the balance of carbonic acid (H 2 CO 3), bicarbonate ion (HCO − 3), and carbon dioxide (CO 2) in order to maintain pH in the blood and duodenum, among other tissues, to support proper ...
The bicarbonate buffer, consisting of a mixture of carbonic acid (H 2 CO 3) and a bicarbonate (HCO − 3) salt in solution, is the most abundant buffer in the extracellular fluid, and it is also the buffer whose acid-to-base ratio can be changed very easily and rapidly. [15]