Question

The chemical name of caustic soda is?

Answer 1

Hint: Caustic soda is the common name for one of the chemical compounds of sodium. It is highly corrosive in nature. Caustic soda is a hydroxide of an alkali metal and it has numerous uses in our day to day life.

Complete answer:
Caustic soda is a pure crystalline colourless solid. It is an alkali salt which is also called “lye”. It is the common name for the alkali metal hydroxide i.e. sodium hydroxide and is an inorganic compound with chemical formula $-NaOH$. The common name caustic soda is given because of its corrosive nature of this alkali salt on animal and plant tissues.
Sodium hydroxide or caustic soda is an ionic compound which is white in colour and has bitter taste and feels slippery with skin contact. It is a strong alkali as it complexly dissociates into hydroxyl ion (i.e. $O{H}^{-}$) and sodium ion (i.e. $N{a}^{+}$) when treated with an aqueous solution.
Caustic soda is prepared by many methods. Some of them are the Caster Kellner process, Loewig’s process and Nelson Diaphragm cell process. It is used mainly in many industries. Sodium hydroxide is also used in laboratories as a reagent and in pH regulation. It is also used as a cleansing agent and in production of washing soda. For the production of aluminium through Bayer process, sodium hydroxide is also used.

Hence, the chemical name of caustic soda is sodium hydroxide.

Note: Caustic soda is dangerous and can cause chemical heat burns upon the skin contact and may even cause permanent blindness upon contact with the eyes. It is highly soluble in water and readily absorbs moisture to form hydrates.