Baking Soda Trivia Quiz

Answer: Common salt (sodium chloride) and limestone (calcium carbonate)

Though the Solvay process is primarily used for the production of soda ash (sodium carbonate), sodium bicarbonate is obtained as an intermediate product.

In this process, calcium carbonate (limestone) decomposes on heating to give calcium oxide (lime) and carbon dioxide. This carbon dioxide reacts with a mixture of sodium chloride, ammonia and water to give sodium bicarbonate (baking soda)- the final product, along with ammonium chloride.

So now what we're left with is calcium oxide and ammonium chloride. Calcium oxide is treated with water to obtain slaked lime (calcium hydroxide). This slaked lime is heated with the ammonium chloride to obtain calcium chloride, ammonia and water. The ammonia thus obtained is re-used in the Solvay process, and so the only real by-product of this process is calcium chloride. A properly designed and maintained Solvay plant can recycle almost all the ammonia it consumes, and only small inputs are required from time to time.

Sodium bicarbonate can also be prepared from a purified solution of sodium carbonate or sodium hydroxide.

Answer: Solid, white

The term Standard Temperature and Pressure (STP) denotes conditions where the temperature is exactly 0 degrees Celsius (273.15 Kelvin) and pressure is 1 atmosphere (101.325 kiloPascals). 0 degrees Celsius is the freezing point of water, and 1 atmosphere is approximately the atmospheric pressure at sea level.

Baking soda melts at around 543 Kelvin (270 degrees Celsius) and is solid at room temperature. Usually the solid is packaged in a powdered form. It may be amorphous (no crystalline structure) or crystalline.

Answer: carbon dioxide

When baking soda is reacted with an acid, a sodium salt of the acid, water and carbon dioxide are obtained. For example, the reaction of baking soda with hydrochloric acid (HCl) can be represented as:
NaHCO3 + HCl --> NaCl + H20 + CO2

Try adding a little baking powder (which contains baking soda) to some vinegar. Vinegar is a dilute aqueous solution (3 to 5%) of ethanoic acid, commonly known as acetic acid (CH3-COOH). You will notice vigorous effervescence (bubbles) being formed: these bubbles are of carbon dioxide. Also evolved in this reaction are sodium acetate (CH3-COONa) and water:
NaHCO3 + CH3COOH --> CH3COONa + H20 + CO2

Answer: Citric acid

Citric acid is a weak organic acid contained in all citric fruits, such as lemons, oranges, lime, grapefruit, etc. A reaction between the baking soda and citric acid (present in lemon juice) results in the production of carbon dioxide gas, which is responsible for the bubbles or the "fizz" formed. Another product of this reaction is sodium citrate, which, like citric acid, is sour in taste (besides tasting salty as well).

Today, aerated drinks are manufactured by passing pressurised carbon dioxide through water. More carbon dioxide dissolves in the water at high pressure than at standard atmospheric pressure. When the bottle is opened, the pressure is reduced, and so dissolved carbon dioxide rushes out of the bottle, which causes the formation of the bubbles.

Answer: basic

A sodium bicarbonate solution in water is mildly alkaline, in fact, the mildest of all sodium alkalis. This can be verified with the well-known litmus paper test- dipping a strip of red litmus paper in an aqueous solution of sodium bicarbonate turns the paper blue, while it has no effect on blue litmus paper.

Answer: It would be comparatively hard and small

Baking soda (contained in most baking powders) is a leavening agent, which when added to a dough and heated to beyond 50 degrees Celsius, causes it to rise. This is because on heating, baking soda decomposes to produce carbon dioxide (CO2) gas.
2NaHCO3 --> Na2CO3 + H20 + CO2
This carbon dioxide gas gets trapped as bubbles within the dough, thus causing it to rise. Thus, most of the cakes we eat are light and fluffy. The baker in concern here, however, has forgotten to add baking powder, as a result of which his cake won't rise and will be hard and small.

Other commonly used leavening agents include yeast (a fungus), steam, air and yoghurt (which contains the bacterium Lactobacillus).

Answer: It would taste bitter

Besides baking soda, baking powders also contain acids in the form of salt crystals, such as cream of tartar (potassium tartrate) or citric acid, as well as starch.

The sodium carbonate (Na2CO3) produced on the decomposition of baking soda tastes bitter or soapy- something not really desired while making a cake. The acid salt present in the baking powder reacts with the sodium carbonate to form a tasteless compound. For example, the reaction between sodium carbonate and potassium tartrate produces sodium potassium tartrate (Rochelle Salt)- a salt whose taste is much weaker than that of sodium carbonate. Thus, the bitter taste of sodium carbonate is removed. (Sometimes, however, recipes call for just baking soda, and not baking powder; these recipes require the addition of an acidic ingredient such as honey, molasses or brown sugar to remove the soapy taste.)

Baking powder contains starch, which is responsible for keeping the powder dry. This is because in the presence of water, the baking soda reacts with the acid salt; hence, the reactants get used up and are wasted.

Answer: Nahcolite

Nahcolite is naturally-occurring sodium bicarbonate, and is extracted by "solution mining". Hot water is pumped into the beds where nahcolite occurs, 2000 feet below the ground. The nahcolite gets dissolved in this hot water, and the solution thus formed is pumped to the surface.

Minerals having names with similar origins include cavansite [CAlcium VANadium SIlicate], nahpoite [Na2H(PO4)] and nacaphite [sodium (Na) calcium (Ca) PHosphate].

Answer: Carbon dioxide

When sodium bicarbonate reacts with sulphuric acid (H2SO4), carbon dioxide (CO2) gas is produced:
2NaHCO3 + H2SO4 --> Na2SO4 + 2H2O + 2CO2

Carbon dioxide, being heavier than oxygen, displaces it and forms a layer above the fire. Thus, the supply of oxygen is cut off, and the fire gets weakened and eventually stopped completely. Carbon dioxide is especially popular for the control of electrical fires, because, being a gas, carbon dioxide does not leave any residue that may damage the equipment. Although we exhale carbon dioxide while breathing, it is required in much higher concentrations to control fires. One problem with carbon dioxide is that its use in enclosed spaces removes the oxygen present there, and oxygen is essential for people to survive!

Answer: Excessive acidity in the stomach

Acidity in the stomach is caused by the disproportionate secretion of hydrochloric acid by the inner lining of the stomach. This happens as a result of consumption of alcohol, coffee, chocolate, high fat meals, orange juice and tomato juice among other things, which trigger this extra secretion. Acidity may result in further problems like heartburn or development of peptic ulcers (ulcers in the stomach's inner lining).

Tablets called "antacids" are prescribed to control acidity. These antacids are basic in nature (their pH is greater than 7), and neutralise the excess hydrochloric acid present in the stomach. Sodium bicarbonate is one such antacid. Other commonly-used antacids include aluminium hydroxide, Milk of Magnesia (magnesium hydroxide), aluminium carbonate and calcium carbonate.

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