Question

What is bleaching powder and baking soda? Write their uses.

Answer 1

As we know that bleaching powder is the common name for calcium hypochlorite and its chemical formula is $Ca{{(OCl)}_{2}}$ whereas baking powder is the common name for sodium bicarbonate and its chemical formula is $NaHC{{O}_{3}}$. So here we have to explain about these chemical compounds along with their uses.

Complete answer:
Let us discuss about bleaching powder and baking soda along with its uses as follows:-
-Bleaching powder: It is a pale yellowish powder. It is an inorganic compound which is also known as calcium hypochlorite and its chemical formula is $Ca{{(OCl)}_{2}}$. This compound is highly soluble in water but due to the presence of impurities, we would never see a clear solution.
-It has a strong smell of chlorine due to its slow decomposition in moist air. It has bleaching (to remove or clean) properties due to which it is also known as bleaching powder.
Uses of bleaching powder:-
-This chemical compound is especially used as a disinfectant. It is used for disinfecting water to make it potable.
-Bleaching powder used for bleaching dirty clothes in the laundry and also as a bleaching agent for cotton and linen material in the textile industry.
-It is also a strong oxidizing agent and therefore it is used as an oxidizer in many industries.
-Baking soda: It is an inorganic compound which is also known as sodium bicarbonate and its chemical formula is $NaHC{{O}_{3}}$. It is especially known for increasing the volume and lightens the texture of baked goods. This compound works by releasing $C{{O}_{2}}$ gas into a batter or dough through an acid - base reaction which creates bubbles in the wet mixture that expand it.
Uses of baking soda:-
-It is used to reduce acidity in the stomach. Therefore it is also one of the antacids as it helps in treating upset stomach or indigestion.
-It is a water softener and hence used in washing as well.
-It also forms soapy foam due to which it is also used as fire extinguishers as well.
-It removes dirt from the materials without damaging any properties of the material.

Note:
-Remember that baking soda is also used as a neutralizer as it neutralizes the effect of acid easily. So various reactions which involve the unnecessary production of acid use this chemical to neutralize it because of its basic properties.
-Also bleaching powder is used to manufacture chloroform ($CHC{{l}_{3}}$), which is an important chemical.