Question

a. Sodium hydrogen carbonate is a basic salt. Justify the statement.
b. State in brief the preparation of washing soda from baking soda with the help of a balanced chemical equation of the reaction involved.

Answer 1

Hint: For solving this question, we need to understand the concept of sodium hydrogen carbonate. We know that sodium hydrogen carbonate is a basic salt because its parent base is strong (NaOH) and parent acid is weak (${H_2}C{O_3}).$

Complete step by step answer:
a. As we all know that, sodium hydrogen carbonate is a salt which is produced by the neutralization reaction between a strong base i.e. NaOH and a weak acid i.e.${H_2}C{O_3}.$ Thus, we know that it shows a property of a basic salt. So, sodium hydrogen carbonate is a basic salt.
When we strongly heat sodium hydrogen carbonate then it produces sodium carbonate, water and carbon dioxide as the by-product of the reaction. We can write the chemical equation for this reaction as,
$2NaHC{O_3}\xrightarrow{\Delta }N{a_2}C{O_3} + {H_2}O + C{O_2}$
b. We have to remember that the washing soda is also known as sodium carbonate which is obtained by the reaction that gets crystallized to form washing soda.
$N{a_2}C{O_3}$ by crystallization gives $N{a_2}C{O_3}.10{H_2}O$ i.e. washing soda.
Also, we know that sodium hydrogen carbonate $N{a_2}HC{O_3}$ is a basic salt due to the combination of a weak acid and strong base.
In this reaction, Baking Soda when heated gives Sodium carbonate, Water and Carbon Dioxide.
And sodium carbonate can be obtained by heating baking soda; recrystallization of sodium carbonate gives washing soda. It is also a basic salt. We can write the chemical reaction involved in this reaction as,
$N{a_2}C{O_3} + 10{H_2}O \to N{a_2}C{O_3}.10{H_2}O$

Note: We need to understand the harmful effects of baking soda. After an ingestion of baking soda, vomiting and diarrhea are common by pulling more water into the digestive tract. After absorption, high sodium concentrations can cause seizures, dehydration, and kidney failure.