Question

Brisk effervescence is seen when oil of vitriol is added to sodium carbonate. Give reason.

Answer 1

To answer this question, you should know about the oil of vitriol. Oil of vitriol is an old name of concentration sulphuric acid which has the chemical formula${H_2}S{O_4}$. Also you have seen in many chemical reactions, a brisk effervescence is caused due to carbon dioxide.

Complete answer:
Let’s understand the reason for the following reaction in complete detail.
First, you should know about vitriol. Vitriol is a general name which indicates the class of chemical compounds that consists of sulphates of certain metals, for example- iron and copper etc. so, oil of vitriol is the old name of concentrated sulphuric acids. Sulphuric acid has the chemical formula${H_2}S{O_4}$. Sulphuric acid $({H_2}S{O_4})$is a strong acid that has hygroscopic and oxidizing properties. It acts as an oxidizing and dehydrating agent.
When oil of vitriol i.e. sulphuric acid $({H_2}S{O_4})$ is added to sodium carbonate with chemical formula $N{a_2}C{O_3}$, a brisk effervescence is formed which indicate the release of carbon dioxide $(C{O_2})$
Chemical reaction that occur is as follows:
$N{a_2}C{O_3}\,\, + \,\,{H_2}S{O_4}\,\, \to \,\,N{a_2}S{O_4}\,\, + \,\,{H_2}O\,\, + C{O_2}\, \uparrow$
Therefore, a brisk effervescence is seen when oil of vitriol $({H_2}S{O_4})$ is added to sodium carbonate $(N{a_2}C{O_3})$ due to the release of carbon dioxide gas $(C{O_2})$

Note:
Always remember that sulphuric acid is also known as oil of vitriol or mattling acids. There are some other mineral substances which are distinguished by their color. For example – iron (II) sulphates is also known as green vitriol and copper (II) sulphates is also known as blue vitriol. So, basically vitriol is the general chemical name which is given to compounds that consist of sulphates.