Question

Reaction of sodium hydrogen carbonate with ethanoic acid is:
A) $NaHC{O_3} + C{H_3}COOH \to C{H_3}COONa + C{O_2} + {H_2}O$
B) $NaHC{O_3} + C{H_3}COOH \to C{H_3}COONa + CO + {H_2}$
C) $NaHC{O_3} + C{H_3}COOH \to C{H_3}CHO + NaC{O_3} + {H_2}O$
D) $NaHC{O_3} + C{H_3}COOH \to C{H_3}COONa + C{O_2} + {H_2}$

Answer 1

The chemical sodium hydrogen carbonate is a base and ethanoic acid is an acid. One can guess the products based on these characters. One needs to balance the reaction equation and make the correct choice.

Complete answer:

1. First of all, let us discuss the reaction between sodium hydrogen carbonate and ethanoic acid. The sodium hydrogen carbonate is a base and ethanoic acid is an acid. This means the reaction that happens here is a neutralization reaction.
2. In a neutralization reaction when an acid reacts with the base then there is a formation of the salts and water. The reaction will go as below,
   General reaction:
   $NaHC{O_3} + C{H_3}COOH \to C{H_3}COONa + C{O_2} + {H_2}O$
   In the above reaction when sodium hydrogen carbonate reacts with the ethanoic acid then there is a formation of sodium ethanoate as a salt and carbon dioxide and water molecules.
3. The above reaction is a balanced reaction that has all the elements on the right side and the left side in proportion. This means the general reaction scheme is correct for the given reaction of neutralization.
   Therefore, the reaction of sodium hydrogen carbonate with ethanoic acid is $NaHC{O_3} + C{H_3}COOH \to C{H_3}COONa + C{O_2} + {H_2}O$ which shows option A as the correct choice of answer.

Note:
In this reaction, there is the production of sodium ethanoate which also shows the presence of carboxylic acid. This reaction is generally used for the identification of the carboxylic acid functional group. The reaction produces carbon dioxide gas and the end product is a colorless aqueous solution of the sodium ethanoate.