Answer:
The final and initial concentration of the acid and it's conjugate base are approximately equal, that is we use the weak acid approximation.
Explanation:
The Henderson-Hasselbalch is used to calculate the pH of a buffer solution. It depends on the weak acid approximation.
Since the weak acid ionizes only to a small extent, then we can say that [HA] ≈ [HA]i
Where [HA] = final concentration of the acid and [HA]i = initial concentration of the acid.
It also follows that [A^-] ≈ [A^-]i where [A^-] and[A^-]i refer to final and initial concentrations of the conjugate base hence the answer above.
