If the ph of the body gets too low, below 7.4, acidosis results. acidosis is serious because many of the chemical reactions that occur in the body are ph-dependent. if the body's ph drops below 6.8 or goes above 7.8, death may occur. because of this, we have buffers in the blood to protect against large changes in ph. as seen in the above reaction, the human buffer system depends on the fact that a) ions are involved in the reactions. b) both the acid and buffer contain hydrogen. c) all reactants involved are soluble in water. d) carbon dioxide gas is a by-product of respiration.