Question

Fill in the blanks: The chemical formula of caustic potash ____.

Answer 1

As we know that caustic potash is a common name for an inorganic compound known as potassium hydroxide which is a strong base just like sodium hydroxide. It has many industrial and commercial applications. So here we have to write down the formula of caustic potash i.e., potassium hydroxide.

Complete answer:
Let us discuss about caustic soda followed by its chemical formula as follows:-
-Caustic potash: It is a common name for an inorganic compound known as potassium hydroxide which is a colorless solid and a strong base just like sodium hydroxide. It is quite worthy because it acts as precursor to most soft and liquid soaps, as well as numerous potassium containing chemicals. It is also a white solid that is dangerously corrosive in nature.
-It is usually sold as translucent pellets, which become tacky in air as caustic potash is hygroscopic by nature. Also its dissolution in water is strongly exothermic and sometimes it may cause burns.
-The chemical formula of caustic potash i.e., potassium hydroxide is as follows:-
Potassium is denoted as ‘K’ and has +1 valency.
Hydroxide is denoted as ‘OH’ and has -1 oxidation state.
So the chemical formula formed while completing each other octet is KOH.
-Hence, the chemical formula of caustic potash is KOH.

Note:
-Remember that caustic means corrosive or easy to burn substance and since both sodium hydroxide and potassium hydroxide are corrosive in nature; hence their common names are caustic soda and caustic potash respectively (where soda stands for sodium and potash stands for potassium).