Question

Question #1993d

Answer 1

Here's what I got.

Explanation:

I'm guessing that you're actually referring to sodium hydrogen carbonate, `"NaHCO"_3`, also known as sodium carbonate, not to sodium hydroxide carbonate, which is not an actual chemical compound.

Sodium bicarbonate, which also goes by the common name baking soda, will react with sulfuric acid to produce aqueous sodium sulfate, `"Na"_2"SO"_4`, and carbonic acid, `"H"_2"CO"_3`.

`2"NaHCO"_ (3(aq)) + "H"_ 2"SO"_ (4(aq)) -> "Na"_ 2"SO"_ (4(aq)) + 2"H"_ 2"CO"_ (3(aq))`

However, this is not the whole story. As it turns out, carbonic acid is very unstable in aqueous solution and it will decompose to water and carbon dioxide.

`"H"_ 2"CO"_ (3(aq)) -> "H"_ 2"O"_ ((l)) + "CO"_ (2(g)) uarr`

If you plug this into the balanced chemical equation

`2"NaHCO"_ (3(aq)) + "H"_ 2"SO"_ (4(aq)) -> "Na"_ 2"SO"_ (4(aq)) + 2["H"_ 2"O"_ ((l)) + "CO"_ (2(g)) uarr]`

you will end up with

`2"NaHCO"_ (3(aq)) + "H"_ 2"SO"_ (4(aq)) -> "Na"_ 2"SO"_ (4(aq)) + 2"H"_ 2"O"_ ((l)) + 2"CO"_ (2(g)) uarr`

An alternative description of what happens during this reaction can be given by eliminating the two spectator ions, the sodium cations, `"Na"^(+)`, and the sulfate anions, `"SO"_4^(2-)`.

So you can also look at this reaction and say that the bicarbonate anions, `"HCO"_3^(-)`, will react with the hydrogen cations produced by the sulfuric acid in solution, `"H"^(+)`, to produce water and carbon dioxide.

`2"HCO"_ (3(aq))^(-) + 2"H"_ ((aq))^(+) -> 2"H"_ 2"O"_ ((l)) + 2"CO"_ (2(g)) uarr`

This can be reduced to give you the net ionic equation that describes this reaction

`"HCO"_ (3(aq))^(-) + "H"_ ((aq))^(+) -> "H"_ 2"O"_ ((l)) + "CO"_ (2(g)) uarr`