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Acid + Carbonate = what reaction?




Q. When a carbonate is added to an acid, what is the reaction and what is the symbol of the carbonate?

OLIVIA K. [last name deleted for privacy by Editor]
- WOLLONGONG, NSW, AUSTRALIA
2003


A. Carbonate is CO3-2 and will react with acids to give off carbon dioxide (CO2), leaving the acid salt of the original carbonate salt.

trevor crichton
Trevor Crichton
R&D practical scientist
Chesham, Bucks, UK
2003



Q. What is the evidence that a chemical reaction has taken place in the reaction of an acid with a carbonate?

Tina D. [last name deleted for privacy by Editor]
student year 10 - Sydney, NSW
February 23, 2008



"Naked Eggs and Flying Potatoes: Unforgettable Experiments that Make Science Fun"
by Steve Spangler

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A. I think Mr. Crichton already answered that question, Tina. That's a hint, but if it's not clear enough, please try to recast your question in terms of his answer, and we can help you through what you aren't understanding.

Ted Mooney, finishing.com
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
February 25, 2008




Q. What is the balanced equation for this please?

Acid + carbonate => carbon dioxide + ?

thanks

Freddie T. [last name deleted for privacy by Editor]
- Auckland, New Zealand
November 10, 2008



"Earth Science for Every Kid: 101 Easy Experiments That Really Work"
by Janice VanCleave

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A. Hi, Freddie. If you give us an unbalanced equation, I'll be happy to balance it for you and explain how it's done. But teachers frequently ask us not to do students' homework assignments here. In fact you teacher wrote: "Tell Freddie to do his own homework!" :-)

You have to know what acid you are using before the equation can be balanced.

Regards,

Ted Mooney, finishing.com
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
November 10, 2008



Q. What does the reaction look like?

Isaac Eng
- Auckland, New Zealand
September 12, 2010


A. Acid + carbonate => carbon dioxide + salt + water

When carbon dioxide reacts, bubbles fizz and lime water will turn cloudy. These are evidence of carbon dioxide reacting in a solution

Serena [last name deleted for privacy by Editor]
- - Auckland, New Zealand
September 12, 2011



Q. I was just curious whether all metals react with acids, because I remember hearing from somewhere that gold and silver won't react. Is there something called gold chloride or silver chloride?

Chen Bo Han
- Singapore
October 6, 2011



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A. Hi, Chen.

Yes, there is such a thing as gold chloride, and silver chloride is a commonplace. But that does not mean that hydrochloric acid will dissolve gold ... it only means that there is some way or other to make gold chloride. Although you can write this balanced equation:
2HCl + Au => H2 + AuCl2
... that doesn't mean that the reaction will actually proceed :-)

A balanced equation "balances", but the fact that it would balance IF it happened doesn't necessarily drive it towards happening. Only aqua regia (HCl + HNO3) will dissolve gold. Good luck.

Regards,

Ted Mooney, finishing.com
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
October 6, 2011



Q. So, is an acid + carbonate a neutralization? Or does the reaction type fall under a different category?

Ian Nelson
- Toronto, Canada
December 7, 2011


A. Yes,
Acid + Base --> Salt + Carbon dioxide + water

William Yohanes
- Jakarta, Indonesia
February 11, 2012



Q. Is there going to be a reaction out of krypton with calcium and neon?

Ernest Ubisse
- Atlanta, Georgia
March 23, 2012



A. Hi Ernest.

wikipedia
Noble gases

It would not further your education for someone to simply answer your question as written, but I can tell you that you can look up "noble gases" and then you'll not only find the answer, you'll know why the answer is what it is. Good luck.

Regards,

Ted Mooney, finishing.com
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
March 25, 2012


Q. Hi I am writing just to ask that when hydrochloric acid is put into a beaker with calcium carbonate, a reaction takes place. How can you tell that a reaction has taken place? Thank you and by the way this isn't homework it is just an experiment that I'm interested about. Thank You. ;)
p.s I'm 12, so please can you try and make it simple

Lola H. [last name deleted for privacy by Editor]
- UK
May 16, 2012




Hi Lola. Serena from Auckland has answered that question. Please read and try to understand what she said. Good luck.

Regards,

Ted Mooney, finishing.com
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey


A. It is basically an acid-base reaction, i.e., water and a salt are formed.

So, one product would be CaCl2 The other product is what is left over. 2HCl + CaCO3 = CaCl2 + H2CO3.
That product breaks down into water and carbon dioxide gas.

So, you will see a gas evolution. Also another indication that a reaction has taken place is the solution will be warmer.

Check out a chemistry book from your library. This reaction will be in most books. Also you will learn a lot about chemical reactions.

James Watts
- Navarre, Florida
May 17, 2012



May 17, 2012

A. Lola,
Look up calcium carbonate on wikipedia, this is a basic reaction and is listed in their examples.

ray kremer
Ray Kremer
Stellar Solutions, Inc.
supporting advertiser
McHenry, Illinois
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A. Lola, I think the question you are asking is how can you tell when a chemical reaction takes place. This is not always easy, because many reactions take place but do not show any visible signs of them happening. However, in the case of hydrochloric acid and calcium carbonate, the reaction is easy to see because the calcium carbonate starts to fizz and release a gas (carbon dioxide); the calcium carbonate also starts to dissolve in the acid. Normally, calcium carbonate is not soluble in water, but when it is reacted with hydrochloric acid it forms calcium chloride, which is soluble. The overall reaction is:

calcium carbonate + hydrochloric acid = calcium chloride + carbon dioxide + water

Hopefully this answers your question and makes sense to you.

trevor crichton
Trevor Crichton
R&D practical scientist
Chesham, Bucks, UK
June 5, 2012



Q. What is the chemistry of an acid-carbonate reaction?

Lisa [last name deleted for privacy by Editor]
- QLD, Australia
June 6, 2012



A. Hi Lisa.

When you're trying to learn, you must understand the meaning of a question before you ask it. It's fine to ask "What is the volume of a baseball in cubic centimeters?" because you understand the question and are just looking for the answer. But it is no good to post "What is the volume of a baseball in cubic parsecs?" if you don't know what a parsec is because then you don't understand the question. (The volume of a baseball in cubic parsecs is a very small number by the way).

In view of the several previously well answered questions, it sounds like you might be stringing words together that you don't really understand yet. So what exactly does the phrase "What is the chemistry of?" mean to you? Good luck.

Regards,

Ted Mooney, finishing.com
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
June 8, 2012



Q. "Lime scale (calcium carbonate) can be removed from kettles using cleaning agents containing sulfamic acid solution. Describe briefly and in your own words how you could determine the enthalpy change associated with this reaction."

Rebecca [last name deleted for privacy by Editor]
- Brisbane, Australia
August 25, 2012



August 29, 2012

thumbs up signHi Rebecca. You'd like someone to describe this for you in your own words?  :-)

Regards,

Ted Mooney, finishing.com
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey


A. Ooh...homework! Pity you didn't even attempt to disguise the question, but have asked it exactly as written either on the teacher's board or the text book!

Anyway, may I suggest you start by googling some of the terms in your question. Put in Enthalpy and you will get millions of hits.

Alternatively try your local library. Search for Enthalpy and possibly calorimeters and you should be on your way.

Brian Terry
Aerospace - Yeovil, Somerset, UK
August 29, 2012



Q. Hi. I have a question.
In my assessment book, it says that hydrochloride acid + sodium carbonate / washing soda [affil links] = sodium chloride + carbon dioxide.
But in school they told me that hydrochloride acid + sodium carbonate = sodium chloride + carbon dioxide + water.
So which one is correct?

Jessica [last name deleted for privacy by Editor]
- Singapore
September 25, 2012



September 25, 2012

A. Hi Jessica.

James Watts, above, gave the equation for a rather similar question involving Calcium Carbonate rather than Sodium Carbonate as:

"2HCl + CaCO3 = CaCl2 + H2CO3.
That product breaks down into water and carbon dioxide gas."

The valence of Na is +1 whereas the valence of Ca is +2, so let's try:

2HCl + Na2CO3 = 2NaCl + H2CO3.
The H2CO3, i.e., carbonic acid, breaks down to H2O and CO2 ...

So what you were told in school seems more accurate than what is written in your assessment book.

Regards,

Ted Mooney, finishing.com
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey


A. Dear Jessica,

One molecule of water is the byproduct of the reaction of two molecules of hydrogen chloride and one sodium carbonate. If you look at the reaction:

Na2CO3 + 2 HCl --> 2 NaCl + CO2 + H2O

But as this reaction occurs in a water matrix, the extra molecule of water is insignificant almost every time.

Hope you could solve your issue! Regards,

Daniel Montañés
- Cañuelas, Buenos Aires, Argentina
September 25, 2012


A. Your school answer is the most correct. Some places do not consider the formation of more water in a water solution to be an important "product". But, you cannot balance the equation without it.

James Watts
- Navarre, Florida
September 25, 2012




sidebar









sidebar

Am I the only grumpy old chemist to find this so sad. Chemistry is not something that happens on the web or on paper. It is real and it is FUN.
If your teacher will not show you what happens, do it yourself.
You need some carbonate, some scale from mum's kettle, bicarbonate of soda from the kitchen or some marble chips from the driveway. Most acids are difficult to get but vinegar [in bulk on eBay or Amazon] (acetic acid [on eBay or Amazon]) works fine.
What happens when you mix them? If you are really clever, you can collect the gas and see what it does to a lighted spill.
One day you too may be a grumpy old chemist!
geoff smith
Geoff Smith
Hampshire, England



Geoff, I don't know how it is on your side of the pond, but here many students want it handed to them with little or no time consumed. Texting is far far more important.

Then, the simple experiment that you suggest is not even considered by most students. Some teachers are great and some just fill the squares. A friend of mine did 45 experiments in one school year with his 8th grade classes.

There are a few really great students out there that are inquisitive and dedicated. But since the rewards are minimal for thinking, the % gets smaller each year.

Yes, I am old, called the grinchfather and a sub teacher.
James Watts
- Navarre, Florida



Grumpy old man #3 checking in ...

Yes, it's sometimes the students, but not always. The pressure to rid the school of chemicals and work strictly with Dr. Pepper & lemons is relentless. Try simply having HCl available in a high school chemistry lab in my 'enlightened' East Coast USA area, and you'll hear from parents: "Why do you insist on trying to poison our children with your sick fetish for toxic chemicals?!".

Maybe the school administrator and the science teacher who talk to me about this issue are exaggerating? Meanwhile, youtube is, I suppose, better than nothing.

Ted Mooney, finishing.com
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey



Not so old but sharing your opinions, I'm checking in, too.

Here in Argentina we see so much lack of interest in some subjects, as chemistry (I'm not an example, I love chemistry and am still working on it), math, physics, biology ... All natural sciences are subjects that only a few follow, and we lack technicians in that matter. As we lack technicians, we lack industry. As we lack industry, we cannot develop ourselves as a country. It's an opinion from this corner of the world.

I am a chemist, and I'm used to strange looks when I say that. I hope that some day that will change somehow.
Daniel Montañés
- Cañuelas, Buenos Aires, Argentina



Hi Ted, it is very similar here. 1N HCl [affil links] does not catch too much grief as well as 1.0N NaOH [1N NaOH on Amazon] .
Many have to submit a chemical inventory at the end of the year.
Don't ask - Don't tell is one approach.
It is easier to ask forgiveness than to ask for permission is another.
Get rid of most of the inventory at the end of the year.
Do not requisition "bad" stuff, buy it out of your own pocket.

It is hard to find time for experiments when you have to spend time on 6th grade level of math and heaven forbid applied algebra.
AP and some honors chemistry are good classes.
All the rest should be taught on a survey of chemistry level rather than chemistry which is now REQUIRED in FL.
James Watts
- Navarre, Florida



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