Ok, I can see now that the OH
- is not added. I think what that equation in my original post is showing is that the ester just reacts with OH
- that is already present in the buffer (since there is lots of it due to the high pH of the buffer).
The question says you can assume a volume so if I assume a volume of 1L then that means that originally I have 0.0500 mol of ester. The reaction goes to completion so at the end of the reaction, you'd have 0.0500mol of alcohol and 0.0500mol of RCOO
-, according to the equation given in the problem. I can see that after this happens, the solution would be identical to one prepared by adding 0.05 moles of alcohol and 0.05 moles of acid - my question now with that part is why is it acid and not the conjugate base like it shows in the problem?
Thanks for your continuing help and patience