Question

Which main product is obtained by reaction of sodium hydroxide with the zinc metal?
(a) $NaZn{{O}_{2}}$
(b) $NaZ{{n}_{2}}O$
(c) $N{{a}_{2}}Zn{{O}_{2}}$
(d) $Zn{{(OH)}_{2}}$

Answer 1

When sodium hydroxide is made to reaction with the metal zinc it results in the formation of oxide and the oxidation state of sodium in that very compound is $+1$. Now you can easily identify that oxide and answer the statement.

Complete Solution :
First of all, let’s discuss what is sodium hydroxide and zinc metal. Sodium hydroxide is formed by the combination of two atoms i.e. sodium and hydrogen. Both the sodium and hydrogen atom are alkali metals which belong to the s-block element and have the atomic number as 11 and 1 respectively and the mass number as 23 and 1 respectively.
- On the other hand, zinc is a metal which belongs to the d-block elements and has the atomic number as 30 and mass number as 65. It has completely filled electronic configuration in its valence and has no tendency to gain electrons but can lose electrons.

Now, considering the statement:
When sodium hydroxide is made to react with the zinc metal , it results in the formation of the oxide i.e. sodium zinc oxide along with the evolution of the hydrogen gas. The reaction is supposed to be:
$2NaOH+Zn\to N{{a}_{2}}Zn{{O}_{2}}+{{H}_{2}}$

So, the main product obtained by reaction of sodium hydroxide with the zinc metal is $N{{a}_{2}}Zn{{O}_{2}}$.
So, the correct answer is “Option C”.

Note: Whenever any metal is made to undergo reaction with the sodium hydroxide , it always results in the formation of the oxide and the formed oxide can be basic, acidic or neutral in nature depending upon the reacting species.