Question

When Sodium hydroxide reacts with carbon dioxide it gives:
A. washing soda
B. baking soda
C. potash
D. none of the above

Answer 1

Hint: Sodium hydroxide is a strong base. Carbon dioxide is an acidic compound. Therefore, when $NaOH$ or sodium hydroxide reacts with $C{O_2}$ we get a compound that is a weak base. This product formed can cause a hindrance to finding the end point of acid base titrations.

Complete step by step answer:
$NaOH$ is a strong base due to the presence of alkali metal Sodium. It is highly reactive when it comes in contact with acidic compounds like $C{O_2}$ . This reaction leads to the formation of a weak base called sodium carbonate. This compound is represented with the formula $N{a_2}C{O_3}$ .This reaction can be demonstrated in the space below.
$NaOH + C{O_2} \to N{a_2}C{O_3} + {H_2}O$
But this reaction is not balanced as the number of sodium atoms on the product side is more than the sodium atoms present in the reactant side.
Therefore, to balance the sodium atoms we will consider $2$ moles of Sodium hydroxide to undergo this reaction.
Therefore, the reaction will now look like this:
$2NaOH + C{O_2} \to N{a_2}C{O_3} + {H_2}O$
Now we shall glance at the number of carbon atoms present. It is balanced as there are equal numbers of carbon atoms present on both sides. There are also equal numbers of Oxygen and Hydrogen atoms present on both sides.
Therefore, the answer to this question will be that sodium hydroxide reacts with carbon dioxide to form sodium carbonate.

So, the correct answer is Option A.

Note: Remember that carbon dioxide does not dissolve in sodium hydroxide but it combines with sodium hydroxide to form sodium carbonate which has the ability to dissolve in water.
Sodium carbonate is also known as Washing soda.
In limited carbon dioxide conditions, the product formed is $NaHC{O_3}$ also known as sodium bicarbonate.