Chemistry question. given Ka of a reaction and ph of blood, whats the ratio of bicarbonate ion to carbonic acid in blood?

Posted on 2017-03-02 19:24:00 in Chemistry by SOFIA

Ka = 4.2 * 10^-7 for the reaction: 

H2CO3(aq) + H2O(l) <-> H3O+(aq) + HCO3-(aq) 

We know the pH of blood is 7.4. 

I know I can use the Ka to get pKa. 

pKa = -log(Ka) = 6.4 

The question is, "what is the ratio of bicarbonate ion to carbonic acid in blood?" 

it says: 

Ratio = [base]/[acid] 

But it doesn't say anything about the concentrations of the base and the acid so I don't know how to solve this. Thanks!

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