If the volume of blood in a normal adult is 5.0 L, what mass of HCl can be neutralized by the buffering system in blood before the pH falls below 7.0 (which would result in death)?

Verified step by step guidance

1. Identify the buffering system in blood, which is primarily the bicarbonate buffer system: \( \text{HCO}_3^- + \text{H}^+ \rightleftharpoons \text{H}_2\text{CO}_3 \).
2. Determine the concentration of bicarbonate ions (\( \text{HCO}_3^- \)) in blood, which is typically around 24 mM.
3. Calculate the total moles of \( \text{HCO}_3^- \) in 5.0 L of blood using the formula: \( \text{moles} = \text{concentration} \times \text{volume} \).
4. Use the stoichiometry of the reaction to find the moles of \( \text{HCl} \) that can be neutralized, noting that 1 mole of \( \text{HCO}_3^- \) neutralizes 1 mole of \( \text{HCl} \).
5. Convert the moles of \( \text{HCl} \) to mass using the molar mass of \( \text{HCl} \) (36.46 g/mol) with the formula: \( \text{mass} = \text{moles} \times \text{molar mass} \).