Question #6615d

1 Answer
Ernest Z.
Jun 13, 2017

Here's my explanation.

Explanation:

The hydrogen carbonate ion, #"HCO"_3^"-"#, does not exist by itself.

It must be paired with a positive ion such as #"Na"^"+"# or #"NH"_4^"+"#.

So, we can have compounds like #"NaHCO"_3# and #"NH"_4"HCO"_3#, and they are all solids at room temperature.

However, in aqueous solution, the ions separate from each other, as in

#"NaHCO"_3"(s)" → "Na"^"+""(aq)" + "HCO"_3^"-""(aq)"#

I suppose you would say that in this case the hydrogen carbonate ion is in an "aqueous" state.

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