# During a reaction, baking soda (NaHCO_3) is combined with calcium chloride (CaCl_2) in water. What is the balanced chemical equation for the reaction that occurred?

Nov 30, 2016

Both baking sodas and Calcium Chloride are ionic substances.

The products formed are; the $N {a}^{+}$ cation from joins with the $C {l}^{-}$ anion AND the $C {a}^{2} +$ cation joins with the $H C {O}_{3}^{-}$ anion.

That means:
Baking Soda + Calcium Chloride => Sodium Chloride + Calcium Hydrogen Carbonate

And that's your equation, but unbalanced so you need to balance that.
$N a H C {O}_{3} + C a C {l}_{2} \implies N a C l + C a {\left(H C {O}_{3}\right)}_{2}$

Always ask yourself these questions below when balancing equations.

On the left hand side of equals sign,
How many Na atoms are there? 1
How many H atoms are there? 1
How many C atoms are there? 1
How many O atoms are there? 3
How many Ca atoms are there? 1
How many Cl atoms are there? 2

On the right hand side?
How many Na atoms are there? 1
How many H atoms are there? 2
How many C atoms are there? 2
How many O atoms are there? 6
How many Ca atoms are there? 1
How many Cl atoms are there? 1

In order for a chemical equation to be balanced, the number of same atoms needs to be EQUAL on both sides (all of them).
So, are they balanced at this stage? No!

To balance them, we need 6 O atoms, 2 H, C and Cl atoms on both sides. What can we do to the equation?
Yes! We can add a 2 in NaCl, so it shows that there are 2 Na and 2 Cl atoms. So we have Cl balanced.
$N a H C {O}_{3} + C a C {l}_{2} \implies 2 N a C l + C a {\left(H C {O}_{3}\right)}_{2}$

Now asked yourself those questions again. And are they balanced?
No! So, how many (?) atoms do you need? And what do you need to add in front of each compounds?

Keep going until all atoms have the same number of atoms on both sides.

...

Your final, balanced equation is:
$2 N a H C {O}_{3} + C a C {l}_{2} \implies 2 N a C l + C a {\left(H C {O}_{3}\right)}_{2}$

^^I AM SO SORRY THAT THE EXPLANATION WAS TOO LONG. I HOPE IT'S NOT TOO CONFUSING.^^